Nearly a million protesters call for president's removal over corruption

onnaedo

March 16, 2015 12:42 PM

The protesters who called for the president's impeachment protested against the country's sluggish economy, rising prices and corruption.

Protesters numbering close to a million marched across cities and towns in Brazil on Sundaycalling for the removal of president, Dilma Rousseff.

The protesters called for the president's impeachment owing to the country's sluggish economy, rising prices and corruption.

The multi billion-dollar corruption scandal at state-run energy company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras is also another core issue which the protesters marched against.

Reuters reports that the protest comes as the country struggles to overcome economic and political malaise and pick up the pieces of a boom that crumbled about the time Rousseff took office in 2011.

Reports say that Rousseff, now early into her second four-year term, is however unlikely to face the impeachment proceedings called for by many opponents.

The protests have been described as a sign of a polarized country increasingly unhappy with its leadership and the unexpectedly large demonstrations are speculated to embolden opposition parties and restive allies.

Speaking with newsmen, 2 members of President Rousseff's cabinet recognized the rights of protesters, but downplayed the importance of the demonstrations, saying they were expressions of discontent by those defeated at the polls.

Ironically, many protesters hail from the country's wealthier classes, who traditionally have opposed the ruling Workers' Party.

Brazil's economic prospects have been described as grim even as many economists expect it to slip into recession and investors fear the country could lose its investment-grade status.

Inflation also runs at a 10-year high, while Brazil's currency, the real, has lost over 22% of its value against the dollar this year.

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