Group blocks avenue in front of Palácio dos Bandeirantes.
Around 100 protesters blocked a section of Morumbi Avenue in front of the Palácio dos Bandeirantes – the seat of the São Paulo state government – in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Two articulated buses and a bonfire were used to prevent vehicles from passing in both directions.
247 - A group of about 100 protesters blocked a section of Avenida Morumbi in front of the Palácio dos Bandeirantes – the seat of the São Paulo state government – in the early hours of Tuesday morning. A bonfire was lit in the middle of the road, preventing vehicles from passing in both directions.
According to information from Folha, shortly before, protesters drove two articulated buses and used the vehicles to block the avenue. The two buses on line 5119 (Terminal Capelinha - Largo São Francisco) were driven away when there were no more passengers.
The driver of one of the buses said that his bus and another from the same company were traveling along Morumbi Avenue when they were blocked by protesters.
Protest
Part of the group of protesters who were gathered in front of the Palácio dos Bandeirantes, in São Paulo, knocked down the second entrance gate of the building, which provides access to the parking lot of the São Paulo state government headquarters. Governor Geraldo Alckmin resides in the palace. The Military Police's Shock Troops retaliated with tear gas. There was a clash with the protesters, but the situation is now normal. The activists, however, remain outside the palace.
Earlier, some protesters tried to kick down the gates. Despite the action, the police did not react and there was no confrontation. The demonstration against the increase in public transport prices in São Paulo gathered more than 30 people, according to the Military Police. The march split: a larger group followed Avenida Luiz Carlos Berrini, in the southern zone, and other smaller groups occupied Avenida Paulista and Marginal Pinheiros. Some of them headed towards the Palácio dos Bandeirantes.
According to the Free Fare Movement, the division was a strategy to increase security. The police monitored the demonstration and stopped traffic on the streets where the march passed. In addition to signs, many activists carried flowers, and several groups used musical instruments.