Hundreds of people denouncing pandemic lockdown measures opposed by President Jair Bolsonaro snarled traffic in major Brazilian cities.
Protesters in trucks, cars and motorcycles, some wrapped in the country's green and yellow flag, honked horns in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and the capital of Brasilia on Saturday, calling for governors to resign over measures that have forced most businesses to close for weeks.
Bolsonaro has been a fierce critic of the states' stay-at-home measures, arguing that the economic harm could be more damaging than the illness. The protests took place a day after Bolsonaro fired his health minister, who had been promoting isolation measures.
In Rio de Janeiro, about 100 vehicles took part in the gridlock, cruising down Atlantica Avenue, along the iconic and temporarily shut-down Copacabana beach.
"Either we just have the pandemic, which is already a lot, or we have the pandemic and chaos," said Anderson Moraes, a state lawmaker who had called for Rio residents to join the protest.
"For sure, lives are more important than anything else, but we can't take decisions today without thinking about tomorrow. Because tomorrow, I don't know how a family man will be when he sees his children going hungry."
"The fear was excessive," he said Saturday, denouncing the "greed" of politicians "who have shut down everything and created panic."
"People want a return to normality," the president said in a Facebook Live session shortly before meeting with a small crowd of supporters who had gathered outside the Planalto presidential palace. "We're going to start adding more flexibility."
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