Brazilians protest Bolsonaro's handling of pandemic

Thousand of people protested against Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, calling for his impeachment and criticizing  his handling of the pandemic.

Many protesters were calling for the vaccination process to be accelerated and for the return of the R$600 emergency aid, which is now between R$150 and R$250.

The crowd marched through Rio's Downtown with flags and drums, demanding the impeachment of Bolsonaro.

"We have a president that, instead of making Brazil an international example, made us a lab of new virus strains", said teacher Juliano Teixeira at the protest gathering.

Although protesters focused on the usage of masks and hand sanitising against the coronavirus, many spots were crowded during the march.

Protests also took place in other capitals of the country in the morning and more are scheduled for later in the day.

Poverty - defined as households living on less than a minimum wage - soared in Brazil during the first quarter of 2021 to its highest level in at least nine years, after falling last year, according to the social policy center of the Getulio Vargas Foundation.