In Brazil, there have been clashes on the streets of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro after protests both for and against President Jair Bolsonaro.
Over the weekend, Brazil overtook France in the total number of coronavirus deaths with nearly 29,000 people losing their lives.
Bolsonaro came out on a horse to join hundreds of supporters in the capital Brasilia. No attempt at social distancing – a display of defiance from the man who in the past has called coronavirus the sniffles.
The president’s supporters are calling for military intervention and the closure of the Supreme Court. Tensions have been rising between Bolsonaro and the judiciary because of an investigation into political interference by the president.
Bolsonaro also accused the top court this week of censorship after it started looking into allegations of fake news and intimidation by his supporters.
Meanwhile in Sao Paulo, riot police threw tear gas – dispersing competing protests by Bolsonaro supporters and football fans from rival clubs marching for democracy.
The political chaos comes at a time when Brazil’s death toll keeps rising and infections are growing at an ever-faster rate. It’s a pandemic Brazil is struggling to control.
