Today, I went to the great demonstration in Rio de Janeiro against the corruption of the government. Having heard ignorant colleagues calling demonstrators stupid and vandals from poor classes, I felt even more motivated to go. And so with some colleagues that still had some principles left, I headed over to the streets.
It was truly a peaceful event and it was clear that most people had no idea how to do a political rally so they chose to express themselves however they could. Some made signs, some painted themselves, others sang songs, played music or danced. One thing was clear: everyone was contra the corrupt actions of the federal, state and municipal government.
Of the hundreds of thousands of participants (some say millions) there were some that took violent actions against the city hall and confronted the police. Everyone is condemning this and unfortunately, their stupid behavior is taking the attention from the point of the demonstration. Similar images are displayed from other cities such as Belem in the North of Brazil and the capital Brasilia. This is very sad point but I guess an inevitable outcome of every revolution.
Anyways, I remain hopeful that Brazilians will start taking a more proactive stance on the issues in their country and continue avoiding violence. Since yesterday, facebook started being flooded with lists of priorities of issues and everyone is engaging in dialog (even those who claim avidly that they are against the demonstrations) various sites that were launched to think of action plans. Such as thisTrello board where people are collaborating on ideas on what needs to be change and this unlike page for things that are wrong in one’s neighborhood.
I am sharing my pictures here.
Grobetrotter 