Hot on the trail of corruption protests in other emerging markets, such as India , Brazilians are marching in their thousands to voice their opposition against one of the country’s most endemic problems. In fact, corruption is estimated to have cost Brazilians R$40bn ($25bn) between 2002 and 2009.
During Ms Rousseff’s eight months in power, 4 minister have been sacked, three of them following corruption or ethics scandals.
Dilma’s willingness to drop wrongdoers from her government has been alternately been criticised as political weakness and praised as moral fortitude. But the fact is that the episodes, which include allegations of major corruption rackets at the transport and agriculture ministries, show that corruption is present at almost all levels of government in Brazil.
The scandals have helped raise awareness of the issue to such an extent that Brazilians, who are normally not politically active, are finally beginning to stir. Anger over corruption adds to discontent with the fact despite its high tax rates, education and health system in Brazil remain poor.
An estimated 25,000 people took part in the Brasília protest and about 2,000 in a march against corruption in São Paulo. (See pictures below) The protests appear to have been organised by fed-up middle-class Brazilians on social networking websites rather than by political organisations.
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