RIO DE JANEIRO, May 28 (APP/AFP): Several
hundred people attended a concert by top Brazilian musicians in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday in the latest protest demanding the resignation of President Michel Temer and calling for new elections.
Caught up in serious corruption allegations, Temer is refusing to
step down, hanging onto his office in the face of mounting popular pressure and the risk his all-important parliamentary support base may collapse.
“If we push him, Temer will fall!” protesters shouted between two
performances.
The musicians performing on Copacabana beach included Caetano Veloso
— who helped revolutionize Brazilian music in the 1970s — and Milton Nascimento, another star of the same generation.
The diverse performances ranged from the samba of Teresa Cristina and
Martnalia to the rap of Mano Brown and Criolo.
The concert was organized by leftist movements that have revived the
slogan “Directas ya” — meaning direct elections now — used by the democratic movement of the early 1980s calling for an end to a military dictatorship that lasted from 1964 to 1985.
According to the constitution, if Temer is dismissed or resigns,
Congress must pick a successor to govern until the next scheduled election in October 2018.
However, a growing number of Brazilians is calling for an early vote,
saying they mistrust a legislature riddled with its own corruption scandals.
That would require Congress to approve a constitutional amendment.