In China, Temer says calls against impeachment not the voice of majority

On an official trip to China today (Sep. 2), President Michel Temer said he sees no contradictions in the national reunification and pacification mentioned in his addresses and the protests staged in several places in Brazil against his government.

“The message of national reunification and pacification I send is not meant for personal benefit, but the benefit of Brazilians. I sense that this is what Brazilians want. Those who rise in protest, like those in one or other petty movement, are always a very small number of people. They're not the ones who have followed most Brazilians,” Temer told journalists accompanying him on the trip.

Demonstrations

With bombs and pepper spray, the Military Police once again dispersed protesters gathered in São Paulo Thursday (1). Demonstrators were rallying for Michel Temer's ouster and against the loss of social rights.

In a street rally, protesters walked down a number of thoroughfares in the city. The police prevented marchers from reaching the headquarters of the PMDB, the main party in the ruling coalition.

Demonstrators were often heard shouting “Deborah here,” in reference to Deborah Fabri, a student from the Federal University of ABC who lost the sight in her left eye during a Wednesday (31) rally, after being hit by shrapnel or a rubber bullet.

The activists also chanted “Diretas já” (“direct [elections] now”) the well-known protest slogan from the 1980s, as well as shouts of “not a single right lost,” and “Temer out.”

Since early this week, at least three São Paulo demonstrations against the removal of former President Dilma Rousseff and Temer's inauguration have been ended by police actions.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira