Thousands return to Brazil streets to protest Bolsanaro’s handling of pandemic

Thousands of Brazilians returned to the streets on Saturday to protest against right-wing authoritarian President Jair Bolsonaro, who will be investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office for allegedly not reporting suspicions of irregularities in the negotiation of anti-covid vaccines.

It is the third day of demonstrations against the government, which has been facing increasing pressure due to a parliamentary investigation into alleged omissions in the management of the pandemic, which has already left more than 500,000 dead in Brazil.

For the doctor Patricia de Lima Mendes, 47, who was participating in an event in the center of Rio de Janeiro, the government is mainly responsible for the high number of deaths.

“There are more than 500 thousand lives killed by this government, due to spurious decisions, fake news, lies, and now that absurd corruption scandal in relation to vaccines,” Mendes told AFP.

Other state capitals such as Belem (Pará, north), Recife (Pernambuco, northeast) and Maceió (Alagoas) also registered demonstrations with banners that read “Bolsonaro genocida”, “Impeachment ya” and “Sí a las vacunas”.

Bolsonaro’s approval rating has fallen to 24% reports the BBC.