Protest against President Temer in Brasília Ends in Violence

05/25/2017 - 11h16

The protest organized by labor unions and leftist movements against President Temer transformed Esplanada dos Ministérios, where Brazil's National Congress and state ministries are located in Brasília, into a battlefield as organizers clashed with the police and the National Security Force on Wednesday, May 24.

Protestors damaged seven buildings that house ministries and set fire to another.

Forty-nine emergency cases were treated - one of them, a man who had been shot.

The police say that the protest was attended by 35,000 people, while organizers say there were 150,000 protestors.

In a decree to be in force until May 31, President Temer called the Armed Forces to protect federal property.

The Army began patrolling the ministry buildings on Wednesday evening. The Minister of Defense, Raul Jungmann, called the event a "riot" and said that the acts were "out of control." Jungmann said the president of the House of Representatives, Rodrigo Maia (DEM), asked the military to act. Maia denied it and said that he had asked the National Security Force to be called, which was later confirmed by the government.

However, Brazil's government revoked on Thursday a presidential decree deploying the military in Brasilia to quell mass protests.

The clashes in the street had consequences in the Congress as some lawmakers even attacked each other physically. Congressmen of opposing parties criticized the use of military forces, while supporters of the government criticized the protest.

Before the demonstration, President Michel Temer had asked allies to maintain an "atmosphere of normality."

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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