SAO PAULO
A national address by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Sunday urged citizens to allow austerity measures to rebalance the economy, but drew noisy protests from disgruntled sectors of the population.
Residents in a number of neighborhoods in Sao Paulo and other large Brazilian cities -- including Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro and the capital, Brasilia -- could be heard banging pots and pans, with drivers flashing lights and sounding their vehicles' horns as the speech progressed.
Some protested by shouting "Fora, Dilma!" -- (Dilma, out!) -- which also briefly turned into a globally trending hashtag on Twitter, as well as #VaiaDilma, or #JeerDilma.
Calls for President Rousseff's impeachment have grown in recent weeks; a major rally called for March 15, has led some to fear a return to mass anti-government protests seen in 2013.
Rousseff, Brazil's first female president, had begun her Sunday evening address on national television and radio by saluting fellow Brazilian women on International Women's Day, but soon turned to the troubling state of the country's economy:
"We are weathering economic difficulties, but our foundations remain solid," Rousseff said.
"The difficulties that exist -- and the steps we are taking to overcome them -- will not compromise our achievements ... nor our future. They are very different from the crises of the past which broke and paralyzed the country," said the president, who began her second term in office in January.
Rousseff said the population had "every right to be irritated and worried" and that "some temporary sacrifices for everyone" would have to be made, but that criticism towards the government had been "unfair."
She pointed the finger of blame at the global economic situation, arguing that the world was enduring the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1929. Economists believe Brazil's economy will contract by 0.58 percent this year, and inflation was at over 7.7 percent in the 12 months to February -- a 10-year high.
Opposition leader Senator Aecio Neves, who narrowly lost to Rousseff in October's presidential election, quickly released a stinging attack on her speech:
"Once again, President Dilma Rousseff is being economical with the truth towards Brazilians. She invents scapegoats, outsources her responsibilities ... and feeds the population an unreal scenario," Neves said.
The senator said Rousseff was "incapable of admitting her mistakes" and that the government should shoulder the blame for the country's widely predicted economic recession, cuts in jobs and soaring inflation.
Neves also referenced Friday's Supreme Court decision to investigate 49 people over what he called a "monstrous criminal scheme" at state-run oil giant Petrobras. Forty-seven politicians will be investigated, the court decided, of which all but one is linked to parties in Rousseff's ruling coalition.
Those taking part in Sunday's "panelaco" -- a protest at which pots and pans are banged, often seen in many Latin American countries -- said they were tired of the Workers' Party-led government, in power since 2003:
"I'm protesting against this corrupt government. Everything is going wrong in this country: economy, health, security," 35-year-old translator Francine Marishima, who took part in a panelaco in São Paulo, told The Anadolu Agency.
"[Rousseff] can't stay: we need someone who cares about us, our country. It'll take so many years to Brazil recover itself against corruption [and] the rate of inflation," added Marishima, one of over 123,000 people who have so far signaled their intention to join the March 15 rally in Sao Paulo on Facebook.
