Top Brazilian musicians join protest bandwagon
Concert goers call for Temer to resign between songs
RIO DE JANEIRO: To the sound of Brazilian popular music, thousands of protesters took over Copacabana Beach to demand a presidential election as pressure mounted on the country’s leader to resign amid corruption allegations.
The protestconcert was called “Diretas Ja,” which translates to “Direct Elections Now”.
It featured Brazilian music icons Caetano Veloso and Milton Nascimento as well as other nationally acclaimed artistes such as Maria Gadu, Criolo and Mano Brown.
Amid a dense fog, thousands of people crammed around a stage truck to sing along with the performers and demand President Michel Temer’s resignation between songs by chanting “Temer out! Direct (polls) now!”
“This concert is neither of the right nor of the left,” Wagner Moura, the lead actor of the Netflix series Narcos who hosted the event, said, despite a multitude of red union flags representing the leftist Workers’ Party.
“It is for the right of the Brazilian people to choose their next president,” he added before introducing artistes on stage.
Temer’s popularity has slumped since he became president a little more than a year ago after President Dilma Rousseff was impeached and removed from office.
Brazilians consider his presidency illegitimate because of
Wagner Moura
Rousseff’s ouster, and many people are angry over his push to pass a series of economic changes, including capping government spending, loosening labour laws and reducing pension benefits.
His standing took a new hit after recent allegations that he endorsed paying bribes to ensure the silence of a former lawmaker who is in prison for corruption.
Brazil’s highest court is investigating Temer for alleged obstruction of justice and involvement in passive corruption, based on a recording that seems to capture his approval of the hush money. Temer denies wrongdoing.
“It is legal, but it is not ethical,” Moura said of Congress picking a new leader while polls indicate many Brazilians want any new president chosen directly by voters.
“Morally we have to elect our next president,” said Moura, who helped organise the concert with the support of leftleaning parties and social movements.
According to watchdog groups, around 60% of the members of both chambers of Congress are under investigation. — AP
Morally we have to elect our next president.