By Chesney Hearst, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Protests over increased bus fares are set to continue in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasília on Monday, June 17th. The city of São Paulo, which saw protests turn violent last week, is expected to have the its largest demonstration yet, with over 200,000 confirmed attendees on the Movimento Passe Livre’s (Free Fare Movement, MPL) São Paulo Facebook event page.
Monday’s demonstration will mark the fifth day of protests in the city, where fares went from R$3 to R$3.20 earlier this month. Protesters are scheduled to gather at 5PM in Largo da Batata, in the western neighborhood of Pinheiros.
In Rio, where the fares rose from from R$2.75 to R$2.95 at the beginning of June, protesters are expected to gather in the late afternoon in the area of Candelária and make their way down Avenida Rio Branco towards Cinelândia, in Centro.
On Monday in Belo Horizonte, which will host its first FIFA Confederations Cup match, protesters are scheduled to march despite a court injunction banning demonstrations in the state during the Cup.
They are expected to gather at 2PM in the São Francisco de Assis church located near the Mineirão stadium. Protesters in Brasília are scheduled to meet at 4PM in front of the National Museum.
As protests continue on the streets, many are taking to social networks to speak out. Often using #changebrazil, many are saying that the protests are not only against a R$0.20 increase in transportation fares but also a reaction to their frustration over the inequalities they see in their country and what they perceive as misallocation of funds in spending for international sports events.
Read more (in Portuguese).
* The Rio Times Daily Updates feature is offered to help keep you up-to-date with important news as it happens.