March against corruption brings young people together on the Esplanade.
According to the police, around 1,5 people marched in Brasília wearing black clothes and carrying banners and signs demanding an end to the misappropriation of public funds.
Agency Brazil - A crowd made up mostly of young people gathered today (21) under a strong autumn sun in the country's capital to protest against corruption. Around 1,5 people, according to estimates by the Federal District Military Police, marched on the Esplanade of Ministries wearing black clothes and carrying banners and posters that called for an end to the misappropriation of public funds. The march was reinforced by the public participating in the celebrations of Brasília's 52nd anniversary.
This was the third edition of the march organized by the Brazil Movement Against Corruption (MBCC). The protests are organized mainly through social media. According to one of the organizers, Rodrigo Montezuma, similar mobilizations to the one in Brasília are planned in about 40 cities. The main demands of this edition of the march are the end of secret voting in Congress and a swift trial of the Mensalão scandal by the Supreme Federal Court (STF).
Among the signs, there were many that called for the resignation of the governor of the Federal District, Agnelo Queiroz, who was mentioned in the Federal Police investigations that led to the arrest of the businessman from Goiás, Carlinhos Cachoeira, suspected of running an illegal gambling scheme.
According to Montezuma, the MBCC is a non-partisan movement and has no relation to any specific political group. "Every day we hear news of corruption, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Public officials who should be safeguarding resources are plundering taxpayer money."
Student Júlia Freitas, 15, participated in the march for the first time and already says: she will join the next protests. “What motivated me to come was outrage. There are people who live on the street and have nothing to eat while others are parading around in fancy cars, doing well with our money.”
Civil servant Júlio Proença brought his three daughters, aged 9, 15, and 17, to participate in the march. He believes that the girls need to become aware of the importance of the problem of corruption. “My generation abandoned this because of the political movement of the time [against the military dictatorship]. I think children need to have this political awareness that has been set aside by Brazilians.”
The next march against corruption is already scheduled: September 7th, Brazil's Independence Day.