Demonstrators in More than 170 Cities Protest against Education Budget Cuts in Brazil
Bolsonaro said the protesters were useful idiots who were being used by "a sly minority"
May.16.2019 1:30PM
Thousands of people in Brazil took to the streets in at least 170 cities to protests against proposed federal education budget cuts. President Jair Bolsonaro, speaking from Dallas, Texas, called the protesters imbeciles, and said they were "useful idiots " being used by a "sly minority. "
Protesters occupied streets and avenues in all state capitals and the federal district, as well as 130 other cities. They marched in small towns like Felipe Guerra (RN), with 5,734 people, as well as the indigenous territory of Alto Rio Negro, at the border between Amazonas and Colombia.
The demonstrators included members of unions opposed to social security reform and students and teachers from public and private universities.
There were also politicians and militants from leftist parties, some people carrying signs that read "Lula Livre," free Lula. However, thousands of other demonstrators, from children to the old, didn't express any connection to any groups. For many, participation in the protest was a spontaneous act similar to the 2013 protests.
More:
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2019/05/demonstrators-in-more-than-170-cities-protest-against-education-budget-cuts-in-brazil.shtml