Friday, June 21, 2013

Brazil: protests continue and gather massive adherences - far-right manipulation however

A huge march shattered Rio de Janeiro yesterday, while many others took place through the country[es]. President Rousseff has canceled her planned visit to Japan. 

Rio tonight

In Salvador de Bahía, police charged with rubber bullets and tear gas against the protesters at some 2 Km of the stadium where a game between Nigeria and Uruguay was scheduled. At least one protester an one police agent were injured.

In Rio de Janeiro police only allowed those with football tickets to get down the subway in the stations near Maracaná stadium. This did not impede the protest anyhow. 

The Landless People Movement (MST), the National Students' Union (UNE), the major labor union (CUT), the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) and even the ruling Workers' Party (PT) announced their adherence to the protests. Other left-wing parties (PSOL, PCO, PSTU) were already supportive of them since the very beginning. 


Far-right interference

There are some apparent contradictions here because the marches have got a marked "apolitical" character, which, as Tsavvko denounces[por], has been exploited by some far-right groups ("painted faces") to manipulate them, expelling not just members of the ruling PT but also those from opposition left-wing parties under the confusing slogan "without party". 

At some moment provokers began attacking activists of the PT, the PCO, the PSTU and the PSOL who were in the march. Some cried "without violence" while throwing objects and tried to push out partisan protesters. Many cried that "all are PT members", chanting anti-PT slogans while burning banners of the PCO or the PSTU. Or just arrived, all hated them and attacked as crazied mob. 

...

That way, the chants of "opportunism" were sarcastic, thrown to ALL the parties, notably the PSTU, PCO and PSOL, who have been there since the very first day of the protests, right in the front line, contributing, while the #clasemediaofre, only joined the demonstrations later and, worse, with their own and reactionary agenda. 

Militants were insulted and attacked and I even saw myself, right near me, a thug with a pocket knife, who was contained by a woman, apparently a friend of him, before he could attack or injure anyone. 

Banners were torn down and burned, and militants were attacked and insulted, expelled from the demonstration. Unacceptable.
"Cara pintadas" (fascists) in Sao Paulo


Some police agents joined the protesters

In quite impacting videos we can see how a whole squad of military police agents symbolically joined the demonstrators in Sao Paulo, sitting down in the middle of them while being applauded at the chant of "the people united will not be defeated". 

In Rio as well, a plain clothes police agent, unloaded his weapon and threw it to the bonfire.

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