In Rio protesters against impeachment assemble at traditional Praça XV

Protests against President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment, organized by Frente Brasil Popular movement, and other social movements and organizations, like Unified Workers' Center (CUT) and National Student Union (UNE), assemble protesters at Praça XV, traditional square in Rio downtown, holding banners and flags carrying message from several sectors of society, "Minister Lula, we support you" or #Down with Cunha, and #Stay Dilma.

Public servant Marisa Justino, 55, from UNEGRO LGBT collective in Rio de Janeiro declared that the group attended the act "to emphasize the president's governance." "Here, we are not defending a party, nor a candidate, nor a politician. Our main reason today is to fight for the threatened democracy," she said.

Actress Letícia Sabatella, known soap opera star, declared that the common agenda at this moment is to fight for democracy and fight against corruption, not affecting only one party. "We will have a political overhaul, we will fight for this overhaul so that we prevent corruption outbreaks. And not use one party as scapegoat and declare that they are the great corrupt. Let's locate corruption, understand the reasons for its existence and its functioning," she declared.

For the oil trade union director of Norte Fluminense, Tadeu Brito, who works at platform P-55, in Petrobras, "in addition to an attack on the federal government, there is an attack on workers. Today we defend a project elected 13 years ago."

Security

Lieutenant Colonel Wagner, commander of the 5th Military Police Battalion, responsible for the security operation, said police from other four battalions are at the place, in addition to the 1st Independent Company of Military Police. He estimated that 2,000 people were at the place at around 5 pm. The number of people arriving is enormous and organizers expect this number to increase at the end of working hours. "In addition to the police here, we prepared schemes in other parts of the city. We also have the Riot Police, to be used only if necessary, to help disperse", he reported.

Among protesters, a group of four Dutch tourists wanted to understand what was happening. When the tour guide explained to them, they expressed interest, because they knew who was Lula.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta