Protesters demand ouster of Bolsonaro

RIO DE JANEIRO — Thousands of Brazilians took the streets for a second day Sunday to call for the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro, who is under fire for his government’s handling of COVID-19, which has raged through the country and claimed more than 216,000 lives.

Horn-honking cars paraded through the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and a dozen or more other cities as other protesters marched on foot, some calling, “Get out Bolsonaro!”

Sunday’s protests were called by conservative groups that had once backed the president, while those on Saturday had come from the left.

“When Bolsonaro arrived, we voted for him for his proposals that we found interesting, but the situation now with the pandemic is terrible,” said Meg Fernandes, a 66-year-old engineer who joined a protest in Rio on Sunday.

She said she was especially alarmed by the situation in the northern city of Manaus, where there’s a waiting list for hospital intensive-care beds and a shortage of medical oxygen.