Topline
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Brazil’s largest cities Saturday to protest President Jair Bolsonaro amid a congressional investigation into his handling of Covid-19 and widespread public outcry over his slow and often skeptical response to a pandemic that’s killed over 450,000 Brazilians.
![Anti-Bolsonaro Rallies As President Faces Probe For Mismanagement Of Pandemic](https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/60b2b37f8867bc4666564f27/960x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=2220&cropY1=112&cropY2=1361)
Demonstrators take part in a protest against Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in the capital of ... [+]
Key Facts
People demonstrated in over a dozen cities, including the capital of Brasilia and the country’s two largest metro areas, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
The protests were reportedly organized by trade unions and left-wing groups calling for Bolsonaro’s impeachment, faulting him for allowing Brazil to suffer the world’s second deadliest Covid-19 outbreak after the United States.
Bolsonaro has shrugged at his country’s death toll and openly derided public health measures, calling people who are cautious of Covid-19 “sissies.”
The protests come weeks after Brazil’s Senate launched an investigation into Bolsonaro’s controversial response to the pandemic and slow vaccine rollout.
Big Number
26%. That’s the share of Brazilian adults who rate Bolsonaro’s job performance as good or excellent, according to an April poll by political news outlet Poder360. Some 44% of the country primarily blames Bolsonaro for the Covid-19 crisis.
![Anti-Bolsonaro Rallies As President Faces Probe For Mismanagement Of Pandemic](https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/60b2b476e90fe30f8b564f29/960x0.jpg?fit=scale)
Demonstrators gather with flags and signs during a protest against President Jair Bolsonaro at ... [+]
![Anti-Bolsonaro Rallies As President Faces Probe For Mismanagement Of Pandemic](https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/60b2b4bf7993e9b451564f27/960x0.jpg?fit=scale)
Demonstrators kick a head prop depicting President Jair Bolsonaro in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
![Anti-Bolsonaro Rallies As President Faces Probe For Mismanagement Of Pandemic](https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/60b2b504c259e28f16363b0b/960x0.jpg?fit=scale)
Police officers stand guard as they observe demonstrators during the protest in Rio de Janeiro.
![Anti-Bolsonaro Rallies As President Faces Probe For Mismanagement Of Pandemic](https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/60b2b542fd4f7b5e10b62762/960x0.jpg?fit=scale)
Demonstrators hold signs against President Jair Bolsonaro as they gather in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
![Anti-Bolsonaro Rallies As President Faces Probe For Mismanagement Of Pandemic](https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/60b2b571377aa00a3a363b0b/960x0.jpg?fit=scale)
A large inflatable caricature of President Jair Bolsonaro, as demonstrators gather during a protest ... [+]
![BRAZIL-BOLSONARO-PROTEST-HEALTH-VIRUS](https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/60b2b61fd8ec10cdc0564f27/960x0.jpg?fit=scale)
Demonstrators set on fire a dummy depicting President Jair Bolsonaro during a protest against his ... [+]
![BRAZIL-BOLSONARO-PROTEST-HEALTH-VIRUS](https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/60b2b666d8ec10cdc0564f29/960x0.jpg?fit=scale)
People take part in a protest against President Jair Bolsonaro in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on ... [+]
Tangent
Bolsonaro is expected to run for reelection next year. He could face a challenge from former President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, a leftist whose oft-criticized prison sentence on corruption charges was overturned earlier this year.
![Anti-Bolsonaro Rallies As President Faces Probe For Mismanagement Of Pandemic](https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/60b2be1b990353bf14b62764/960x0.jpg?fit=scale)
A demonstrator holds a photo of former president Lula da Silva during a protest Jair Bolsonaro in ... [+]