In Brazil, a protest in the country's lower chamber of Congress in the capital Brasilia on Wednesday led to dozens of dissenters being arrested.
The demonstrators called for military rule, which Brazil was under from 1964 to 1985, as they condemned government corruption, the BBC News reported. The protesters rushed into the chamber at the beginning of a session, smashing a glass door and singing the national anthem.
Despite pulling off two of the world's most high-profile sporting events during the past two years – the World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics this year – public confidence in Brazilian institutions has dissipated with a corruption scandal and the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, the BBC noted.
Reuters reported that federal police were able to regain control of Congress chambers after three hours when about 60 protesters were arrested. All the protesters were held for questioning, Agence France-Presse reported.
"Episodes like today's are unacceptable and will be fought in the light of law and in defense of the integrity of each of the state's institutions," President Michel Temer's spokesman, Alexandre Parola, said, according to Agence France-Presse.
The long-run controversy in Brazil's government turned a new page last week when Rousseff charged in court that Temer, who had served as her vice president, had accepted a large bribe, the BBC News reported. Temer's party pushed back, charging that the president had received a legal campaign donation.
Rio de Janeiro, had declared a financial emergency before the Olympics this summer so it could receive federal funds to pay police and make sure hospitals remained open during the event, according to Reuters.
Hospital workers said that since the Olympics have ended, the public health system there is in disarray, as critical health supplies run short, according to Reuters. Educators also charged that schools are also facing a similar crisis.
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