Brazil Teacher Protest Ends in Violence

March for better public education marred by firebombs and bank break-ins

  • Share
  • Read Later
Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty Images

Masked demonstrators burn trash outside the City Hall, following a teachers' protest for better working conditions and against police beating in Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 7.

A large demonstration in central Rio de Janeiro on Monday in support of better pay for teachers descended into chaos when a small group of protestors hurled firebombs at government buildings.

Police responded with tear gas when anarchists broke into banks and tried to loot ATMs. Other protestors torched a bus on Rio’s main avenue. In Sao Paulo, a protest turned violent after masked men ransacked many of the city’s banks.

The teachers have been demanding salary increases for two months amid a wider movement against the government and its policies that began in June.

[BBC]