SAO PAULO: Thousands of Brazilians protested in all 26 states and the federal district Sunday against a possible pardon for former President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies, who were convicted of attempting a coup.
Calls for demonstrations grew after the lower house Tuesday passed a constitutional amendment that would make it harder to arrest or launch criminal proceedings against lawmakers. The measure now heads to the Senate.
The following day the lower house voted to fast-track a bill backed by right-wing opposition lawmakers that could grant amnesty to Bolsonaro, his closest allies and hundreds of supporters convicted of their roles in the January 2023 uprising.
In São Paulo, 42,400 people joined the protest, while 41,800 turned out in Rio de Janeiro, according to estimates by the University of São Paulo’s Monitor of Political Debate and the nonprofit More in Common.
Pablo Ortellado, director of the Monitor of Political Debate, told The Associated Press the numbers in Brazil’s two largest cities were the highest for a left-wing demonstration since President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 2022 electoral victory. Researchers estimated crowd sizes using drone photos.
