Brazil leader to break silence about protests

By BRADLEY BROOKS

Associated Press

BRASILIA, Brazil — More than a week of massive, violent protests across Brazil invited only stoic silence Friday from President Dilma Rousseff, even after she had called an emergency meeting with a top Cabinet member in response to the growing unrest.

Only on Friday night did the government confirm that Rousseff would address the nation a few hours later, but through a prerecorded message. She was expected to meet in the evening with top bishops from the Roman Catholic Church about the protests’ effects on a papal visit still scheduled for next month in Rio and Sao Paulo state.

Trying to decipher the president’s reaction to the unrest has become a national guessing game, especially after some 1 million anti-government demonstrators took to the streets the night before across the country to denounce everything from poor public services to the billions of dollars spent preparing for next year’s World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

The protests continued Friday, as about 1,000 people marched in western Rio de Janeiro city, with some looting stores and invading an enormous $250 million arts center that remains empty after several years of construction. Police tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas as they were pelted with rocks. Police said some in the crowd were armed and firing at officers.

Local radio was also reporting that protesters were heading to the apartment of Rio state Gov. Sergio Cabral in the posh Rio neighborhood of Ipanema.

Other protests broke out in the country’s biggest city, Sao Paulo, and in Fortaleza in the country’s northeast. Demonstrators were calling for more mobilizations in 10 cities on Saturday.

The National Conference of Brazilian Bishops came out in favor of the protests, saying that it maintains “solidarity and support for the demonstrations, as long as they remain peaceful.”

“This is a phenomenon involving the Brazilian people and the awakening of a new consciousness,” church leaders said in the statement. “The protests show all of us that we cannot live in a country with so much inequality.”

Rousseff, a former Marxist rebel who fought against Brazil’s 1964-85 military regime, had never held elected office before she became president in 2011 and remains clearly uncomfortable in the spotlight.

She’s the political protege of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a charismatic ex-union leader whose tremendous popularity helped usher his former chief of staff to the country’s top office. A career technocrat and trained economist, Rousseff’s tough managerial style under Lula earned her the moniker “the Iron Lady,” a name she has said she detests.

While Rousseff has stayed away from the public eye, Roberto Jaguaribe, the nation’s ambassador to Britain, told news channel CNN Friday the government was first trying to contain the protests.

He labeled as “very delicate” the myriad demands emanating from protesters in the streets.

“One of our ministers who’s dealing with these issues of civil society said that it would be presumptuous on our part to think we know what’s taking place,” Jaguaribe said. “This is a very dynamic process. We’re trying to figure out what’s going on because who do we speak to, who are the leaders of the process?”

Marlise Matos, a political science professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, said that answer wasn’t good enough.

“The government has to respond, even if the agenda seems unclear and wide open,” she said. “It should be the president herself who should come out and provide a response. But I think the government is still making strategic calculations to decide how to respond. What I’d like to see as a response is a call for a referendum on political reform. Let the people decide what kind of political and electoral system we have.”

Brazil watchers outside the country were also puzzled by the government’s silence, although Peter Hakim, president emeritus at the U.S.-based Inter-American Dialogue think-tank, said he appreciated the complicated political picture, especially with protests flaring in areas where the president is unpopular.

“It’s unusual that there has not been a major speech by Dilma, in which she could say that Brazil has come a long way but admit it’s got a long way to go,” Hakim said. “This is a puzzle in the midst of a huge labyrinth maze and she can’t figure out the best direction to take.”

Carlos Cardozo, a 62-year-old financial consultant who joined Friday’s protest in Rio, said he thought the unrest could cost Rousseff next year’s elections. Even as recently as last week, Rousseff had enjoyed a 74 percent approval rating in a poll by the business group the National Transport Confederation.

“Her paying lip service by saying she’s in favor of the protests is not helping her cause,” Cardozo said. “People want to see real action, real decisions, and it’s not this government that’s capable of delivering.”

Social media and mass emails were buzzing with calls for a general strike next week. However, Brazil’s two largest nationwide unions, the Central Workers Union and the Union Force, said they knew nothing about such an action, though they do support the protests.

A Thursday night march in Sao Paulo was the first with a strong union presence, as a drum corps led members wearing matching shirts down the city’s main avenue. Many protesters have called for a movement with no ties to political parties or unions, which are widely considered corrupt here.

In the absence of such groups, the protests have largely lacked organization or even concrete demands, making a coherent government response nearly impossible. Several cities have cancelled the transit fare hikes that had originally sparked the demonstrations a week ago, but the outrage has only grown more intense.

The one group behind the reversal of the fare hike, the Free Fare Movement, said on Friday it would not call any more protests. However, it wasn’t clear what impact that might have on a movement that has moved far beyond its original complaint.

Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota hit back at protesters the morning after his modernist ministry building was attacked by an enraged crowd Thursday. At one point, smoke had billowed from the building, while demonstrators shattered windows along its perimeter.

Standing before the ministry, Patriota told reporters he “was very angry” that protesters attacked a structure “that represents the search for understanding through dialogue.” Patriota called for protesters “to convey their demands peacefully.”

“I believe that the great majority of the protesters are not taking part in this violence and are instead looking to improve Brazil’s democracy via legitimate forms of protest,” Patriota said.

Most protesters have indeed been peaceful, and crowds have taken to chanting “No violence! No violence!” when small groups have prepared to burn and smash. The more violent demonstrators have usually taken over once night has fallen.

At least one protester was killed in Sao Paulo state Thursday night when a driver apparently became enraged about being unable to travel along a street and rammed his car into demonstrators. News reports also said a 54-year-old cleaning woman had died Friday after inhaling tear gas the night before while taking cover in a restored trolley car.

The unrest is hitting the nation as it hosts the Confederations Cup soccer tournament, with tens of thousands of foreign visitors in attendance.

For some, the police response to the protests has been yet another reason to hit the streets.

“Even though I didn’t see much of police violence on TV because the coverage was focused on the vandalism, I heard about it from friends and family,” said 26-year-old journalist Marcela Barreto, who was marching in Rio Friday. “And I wanted to show the government it’s not going to work. We’re not scared.”

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Barchfield reported from Rio de Janeiro and Brooks from Sao Paulo. Associated Press writers Stan Lehman in Sao Paulo and Jack Chang in Mexico City contributed to this report.