Coinciding with Brazilian Independence Day and marked by shouts of slogans like “Out with Temer,” the protesters denounced cuts to social programs and protection of human rights expected under the newly-inaugurated conservative government, which already began to implement an aggressive neoliberal agenda during its “interim” three months in office.

“This September 7 is quite different because the people are living a coup,” Silvana Conti, a candidate with the Communist Party of Brazil in Porto Alegre, said in a statement, citing the widely-repeated criticism of the impeachment process against ousted President Dilma Rousseff as a parliamentary coup. “It is important that the Brazilian people show that they are not accepting an illegitimate government and will not leave the streets until a return to democracy.”

When Temer made an appearance accompanied by his wife Marcela in Brasilia for the Independence Day parade, he was met with cries calling for his removal, local media reported. It was his first public appearance in Brazil since his speedy inauguration on August 31 following the 61 to 20 vote in the Senate to impeach Rousseff, and the hostile greeting echoed the reception of boos he received during the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Rio last month.

Meanwhile, protesters also flooded in the streets in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Recife, Campo Grande, and several other locations. Solidarity protests were also held internationally, including in London.

“They did not calculate well the opposition there would be against the withdrawal of workers’ rights,” said Lindbergh Farias, senator with Rousseff’s Workers Party, during the demonstrations in Rio, Folha de Sao Paulo reported. In recent days, labor unions and social movements have come together to reject Temer’s plans for the country, which include lifting restrictions on foreign land ownership, cutting social programs, and privatizing the country’s natural resources, including rich offshore oil reserves. Temer has also moved toward cozier relations with the United States after years of independent foreign policy favoring South American regional integration under Rousseff and her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

On Monday, September 5, Brazil’s largest social movement, the Landless Worker Movement, or MST, occupied government offices in Brasilia to demand agricultural issues be addressed, while an estimated 12,000 protesters took to the streets in various actions across the country to echo demands for agrarian reform and guaranteed access to farmland for landless rural people.

Social movements have vowed to continue to protest the so-called coup against Brazilian democracy while fighting to protect the social gains won over more than a decade of Worker Party governments.

“Michel Temer’s government claimed that once the impeachment was approved, the country would be at peace. What we witnessed was a strong reaction because society realized that a gang of corrupt (politicians) condemned an innocent person,” Raimundo Bonfim of the Central Popular Movements told Folha. “And since then there have been protests against the neoliberal agenda.”

(TeleSUR English)

In a statement released yesterday the regional mechanism noted that the move in Brazil “raises concerns and has regional implications, consideration of which justifies an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers,” as reported by PL.

Rousseff’s removal has prompted varied reactions among governments of the region, several of which have described the move as a “coup”.

The protests following the vote by the Brazilian Senate to impeach the president have multiplied across more than a dozen states; however incidents have only been recorded in São Paulo.

There, in the same place where just a few hours before a group opposed to Rousseff had celebrated her removal with honking, cake and champagne, supporters of the former president confronted the Military Police, who attempted to disperse two protests against the Temer government.

The two demonstrations departed from the São Paulo Art Museum, in the financial heart of the country, toward the center of the city and, for the third straight night, police fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

In Brasilia, hundreds of supporters of the Workers’ Party mobilized, as they have done since Monday, in support of the former president.

A crowd gathered to hear Rousseff’s brief farewell speech following her ousting and sang the national anthem in front of the Palacio de la Alvorada, the presidential residence.

Several hundred gathered that evening on the Explanada de los Ministerios, facing the Brazilian Congress, to express solidarity with Rousseff.

Protests against Michel Temer also multiplied across Río de Janeiro, where hundreds of people demonstrated in the center of the city, and other capitals of the interior, such as Porto Alegre, Salvador, and Vitoria.

(Granma)

“They are few but are changing in depth the way that health professionals work and the doctor-patient relation in the state of Rio Grande do Sul,” said Rousseff in a Facebook post, commenting on an article about the Cuban doctors, published by the newspaper Zero Hora, in Porto Alegre.

She said that joining “More Doctors,” which was implemented to change the approach of preventive medicine in Brazil, the Cuban doctors are simply dressed, do the cleaning in their houses and carry their own lunch in containers.

In her post, she describes that these doctors are systematic, delicate when treating patients and also like partying, as Brazilians do, and are breaking the barrier of prejudices and corporatism of professionals in this nation.

Entitled “Cuban Revolution in Health Centers,” the article in the mentioned newspaper shows the daily activities of six Cuban women that are working in neighborhoods of this Brazilian southeastern city.

Their routine is the same as those of millions of workers, but there is a surprising aspect, the six women are doctors, the newspaper revealed.

These professionals represent a new character, which appeared in late 2013 in many communities and remote spots in the country, and keep humane exchange with their patients, something new here, the publication said.

The women are part of the 285 Cuban doctors distributed throughout different municipalities in this state, in which 138 other Cuban specialists will arrive in March.

Cuban medical cooperation with Brazil was achieved after an agreement between the Pan-American Health Organization and authorities of this country was signed in July.

More than 7,000 Cuban doctors are rendering services so far in 2,000 municipalities and 128 indigenous districts in this South American nation.

Brazilian Minister of Communications Paulo Bernardo noted that so far, all justifications on this regrettable episode presented by the United States “turned out to be false”.

He pointed out that this espionage has created an embarrassing situation, not only for Brazil, but also for other countries such as Mexico, Germany and France, which were also victims of that practice.

According to Bernardo, the work of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) was targeted at Brazil’s commercial and industrial sectors.

There is interest in learning about oil reserves and other serious matters, said the minister, adding that the situation “is not reasonable” and Brazil is still waiting for clear and precise explanations from Washington.

It is U.S. espionage, something very serious, which violates the individual rights of people, Bernardo stressed. He added that the Government is willing to cooperate with the investigation on the case that will carry out a special committee of the Senate.

Bernardo’s statements came after the Brazilian Foreign Ministry on Monday demanded a response in writing from the United States on denunciations of espionage by U.S. intelligence agencies on the head of State and her advisors.

Speaking on her Monday radio program “Coffee with the President”, Rousseff ratified that her government will take measures to meet the demands from millions of demonstrators who have taken to the streets over the past two weeks to demand high-quality education, health and public transportation, less corruption and more safety.

She favored taking advantage of the youths’ energy to change, in a better and faster way, many things that Brazil has failed to achieve due to political and economic limitations.

“As the president, I have the obligation to listen to the voice from the streets, to dialogue with all sectors, but everything within law and order. Brazil fought hard to become a democratic country and is also fighting hard to become the fairest country,” she stressed.

Finally, she ratified her opposition to violence by a minority interested in destroying public property during the protests, so she assured that security agencies must stop, within the boundaries of law, all kinds of vandalistic acts and outrages.

In her Monday radio program, “Coffee with the President,” Rousseff affirmed that the federal executive has already completed 3,180 day care centers and has signed contracts to build another 2,217.

We intend to increase kindergartens and will back Brazilian municipalities and fund the construction of another 3,288 through 2014, she emphasized.

The president noted that the Prefectures have until May 31 to join the project, which will allow them to choose a day care center model that will ensure the quality and dynamic nature of the work.

She noted that the commitment was to build 6,000 childhood centers, with resources from the Treasury, but with the projects in force the number of these facilities will exceed 8,000 by next year.

Rousseff announced that the government will pay the tuition fee and maintenance tuition for poor families children as it seeks to achieve quality education for Brazilian children starting in childhood, in order to move towards the construction of a more just and developed country.