This archive report was first published on 12 September 2021.
On September 12, 2021, hundreds of Brazilians took to the streets in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Belo Horizonte to protest against President Jair Bolsonaro and demand his impeachment. The demonstrations were called by conservative groups, including the Movimento Brasil Livre (Free Brazil Movement), which had previously pressed for the impeachment of left-wing President Dilma Rousseff in 2016.
Organizers of the protests, which were smaller than anticipated, expected large crowds but lacked the support of groups like Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's Workers' Party (PT). In Rio, a few hundred demonstrators gathered on Copacabana beach, waving Brazilian flags and wearing 'Lula 2022' t-shirts.
A single message resonated through the crowd: 'Out with Bolsonaro.' Hundreds of white-clad protesters gathered in downtown Sao Paulo, the nation's economic engine, for a rally that was dwarfed by the 125,000 Bolsonaro supporters who converged on the same streets just days earlier.
As the 2022 presidential elections approach, polls show Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former union leader who served as president from 2003 to 2010, with a sizeable lead over incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro.
