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Thousands rally against Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff

Sunday, 15 March 2015 5:54 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 15 March 2015 5:54 PM ]

Demonstrators rally to protest against the government of Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff in Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 15 March, 2015. (AFP photo)

Tens of thousands of people have attended anti-government rallies across Brazil to protest against the administration of President Dilma Rousseff.

The Sunday protests, which were staged in at least 50 cities across the country, marked the ceremonial 30th anniversary of the end of a brutal dictatorship that lasted over 20 years.

In Brazil’s most-populous city, Sao Paulo, 200,000 people reportedly attended an anti-Rousseff rally, while in the capital, Brasilia, protesters waved flags and held signs reading “Impeach Rousseff!” and “Corruption: How much longer are you going to be here?”

Rousseff (pictured below) is facing criticism over Brazil's stagnating economy and rising energy costs and a major corruption scandal involving state-controlled oil giant Petrobras.

Though nobody has yet been convicted, dozens of political figures and former Petrobras executives are under suspicion over a scheme facilitating corruption and money laundering that saw an estimated USD 3.8 billion creamed off inflated contracts over a decade.

Rousseff, who served as the head of Petrobras before taking office as president in 2010, faces criticism for failing to take action against corruption at the oil company during her tenure and later as the Brazilian leader.

She has denied any knowledge of the multi-billion-dollar bribery and kickback scheme, and backed the ongoing Petrobras probe.

Brazil’s military dictatorship

The Sunday protests also marked the ceremonial 30th anniversary of the restoration of democracy in Brazil after a dictatorship that lasted more than two decades.

Brazil was ruled by a military dictatorship between 1964 and 1985, which was responsible for the death and banishment of thousands of Brazilian citizens.

Coincidentally, Rousseff, a former guerrilla jailed and tortured during the two-decade dictatorship, endorsed the formation of a fact-finding committee to investigate human rights abuses during the 21-year period.

Rousseff, who once was labeled by a military prosecutor as the "Joan of Arc" of the guerrilla movement, was awarded USD 10,000 in compensation from the state of Rio de Janeiro for torture she suffered in prison during the military dictatorship.

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