Protesters take over Copacabana Beach urging Brazil's president to quit
Thousands of people attended a protest concert on Copacabana Beach to demand a presidential election as pressure mounted on Brazil's leader to resign amid corruption allegations.
The event on Sunday was called "Diretas Ja," which translates as "Direct Elections Now".
It featured Brazilian music heroes Caetano Veloso and Milton Nascimento as well as other nationally acclaimed artists such as Maria Gadu, Criolo and Mano Brown.
In dense fog, thousands of people crammed around a stage truck to sing along with the performers and demand President Michel Temer's resignation between songs by chanting: "Temer out! Direct (elections) now!"
"This concert is neither of the right nor of the left," said Wagner Moura, the lead actor of the Netflix series Narcos who hosted the event, despite a multitude of red union flags representing the leftist Workers' Party.
"It is for the right of the Brazilian people to choose their next president," he added before introducing artists on stage.
Mr Temer's popularity has slumped since he became president a little more than a year ago after Dilma Rousseff was impeached and removed from office.
Some Brazilians consider his presidency illegitimate because of the way Ms Rousseff was ousted.
And many people are angry over his push to pass a series of economic changes, including capping government spending, loosening labour laws and reducing pension benefits.
His standing took a new hit after recent allegations that he endorsed paying bribes to ensure the silence of a former politician who is in prison for corruption.
Brazil's highest court is investigating Mr Temer for alleged obstruction of justice and involvement in passive corruption, based on a recording that seems to capture his approval of the hush money. He denies wrongdoing.
If Mr Temer resigns or is forced out, Brazilian law calls for the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies to serve as interim president for up to 30 days until Congress decides who will finish the term that runs through 2018.
"It is legal, but it is not ethical," Moura said of Congress picking a new leader, while polls indicate many Brazilians want any new president chosen directly by voters.
"Morally we have to elect our next president," said Moura, who helped organise the concert with the support of left-leaning parties and social movements.
According to watchdog groups, around 60% of the members of both chambers of Congress are under investigation for various crimes including corruption.
Matheus Araujo, a business administrator who attended the protest with his baby daughter in his arms, said Congress was in no condition to choose the next president.
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Brasilia, Brazil this week to demand their president step down. pic.twitter.com/RD1K0ztZXN
— AJ+ (@ajplus) May 28, 2017
Mr Temer announced changes in his Cabinet on Sunday, switching the transparency minister to justice minister and vice versa.
Critics said the move was aimed at putting TMr emer's long-time friend Torquato Jardim in the crucial justice minister position.
The concert allowed different generations of protesters to compare the current movement with the 1980s call for general elections when Brazil was under a military dictatorship.
"Back in 1984, I was protesting like this in downtown Rio," recalled Rosana Bulos, a university professor.
"This symbolises the return of that same hope, that we can achieve things with our voices and without war."
