The street protests in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte, among other cities, were convened by conservative-leaning social organizations like Movimento Brasil Livre (Free Brazil Movement, or MBL), which pressed for the impeachment of leftwing president Dilma Rousseff in 2016. MBL now advocates a third way for Brazil’s 2022 presidential elections, under the slogan “Neither Bolsonaro nor Lula,” referring to the current president’s political nemesis Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Organisers expected large crowds, but without the support of groups like Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT) the demonstrations were smaller than anticipated. In Rio, a few hundred demonstrators gathered early Sunday on Copacabana beach. Many wore white as a sign of political neutrality.

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