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                   Brazil President Rousseff Salutes Protests

   by Reuters

   President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday sought to defuse a massive protest
   movement sweeping Brazil, acknowledging the need for better public
   services and more responsive governance as demonstrations continued in
   some cities around the country.

   Speaking the morning after more than 200,000 Brazilians marched in over
   a half-dozen cities, Rousseff said her government remains committed to
   social change and is listening attentively to the many grievances
   expressed at the demonstrations.

   "Brazil woke up stronger today," Rousseff said in a televised speech in
   Brasilia. "The size of yesterday's demonstrations shows the energy of
   our democracy, the strength of the voice of the streets and the
   civility of our population."

   Monday's demonstrations were the latest in a flurry of protests over
   the past two weeks that have fed on widespread frustration with poor
   public services, police violence and government corruption.

   The protests, organized mostly by university students through
   snowballing social media campaigns, marked the first time that
   Brazilians have taken to the streets on such a large scale since
   economic volatility and a corruption scandal led to the toppling of a
   president in the early 1990s.

   The demonstrations started as small protests in a few cities against an
   increase in bus and subway fares but quickly ballooned into a national
   movement after police fired rubber bullets at protesters in Sao Paulo
   last week in clashes that injured more than 100 people.

   Eager to ease tensions and prevent future protests, officials in at
   least five cities, including important state capitals such as Porto
   Alegre and Recife, announced plans on Tuesday to lower bus fares.

   But demonstrations continued in a few cities around the country,
   including Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, where thousands gathered in
   front of the city's landmark cathedral in what protesters hoped would
   be a final push persuading local officials to cancel the bus fare
   increase.

   Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad, a prominent figure in Rousseff's
   left-leaning Workers' Party, said in a meeting with leaders of the
   protest movement on Tuesday that he is considering a cut in bus fares
   but needs to find ways to compensate for the loss in revenue.

   Even if Haddad does cede, it remains unclear if that would be enough to
   halt the protests, given that protesters have embraced so many other
   causes.
   Rousseff turns to Lula

   Rousseff traveled to Sao Paulo on Tuesday afternoon to meet with Haddad
   and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, her predecessor and
   political mentor. A former metalworker and union boss who led massive
   protests in the late 1970s, Lula remains an important power broker in
   Brazilian politics.

   The unrest comes at a delicate time for Rousseff, whose administration
   is struggling to rein in high inflation and get the economy back on
   track after two years of sluggish growth. Polls show Rousseff remains
   widely popular, but her approval ratings have begun to slip in recent
   weeks for the first time since taking office in early 2011.

   A leftist guerrilla in her youth who was jailed for conspiring against
   Brazil's military dictatorship, Rousseff said the sight of so many
   young Brazilians marching for their rights moved her.

   She also said her government sympathizes with the many grievances
   expressed at the demonstrations, from calls for more spending on
   education and healthcare to better and more affordable public
   transportation.

   "My government hears the voices clamoring for change, my government is
   committed to social transformation," Rousseff said. "Those who took to
   the streets yesterday sent a clear message to all of society, above all
   to political leaders at all levels of government."
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/article/1684559.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/article/1684559.html