Brazil impeachment protests thinner but still determined

Demonstrators with posters written in Portuguese “Out Dilma and Impeachment” take part in protest for the impeachment of Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff, in the center of Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015. Dozens of cities are staging protests across Brazil asking Congress to impeach President Dilma Rousseff. Hundreds have gathered Sunday in cities such as Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo wearing Brazil’s national soccer jersey. They are holding banners that criticize the president and her Workers’ Party for a massive corruption scandal at the state-run oil company. AP Photo

SAO PAULO, Brazil—Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets Sunday to demand that embattled President Dilma Rousseff—facing a weak economy and calls for her impeachment—be removed from office.

READ: Rousseff nixes Japan, Vietnam trips over budget problems

Rousseff is battling for her political life, standing accused of illegal budgeting maneuvers that she says were long-accepted practices by previous governments.

“Time has shown that Dilma is unable to govern. She’s thrown the country down a well,” argued Adriano de Queiroz, 36, a protester in the capital Brasilia.

READ: Brazil president faces angry citizens as elections loom

If there was any good news for her on Sunday, it was that turnout at the rallies seen as a barometer of national mood was less than expected.

Just days ago, pro-Rousseff and opposition deputies pushed and screamed during voting to form an impeachment commission.

But protesters Sunday were much calmer, marching peacefully behind a giant inflatable Rousseff dressed up as Pinocchio in Brasilia.

The turnout hit about 81,000 nationwide with 39 cities reporting demonstrations, according to police cited by the Globo television network.

Organizers, meanwhile, insisted the number was really 385,000, according to Globo.

About 30,000 rallied in the country’s wealthy industrial and financial hub Sao Paulo, it reported.

It was a sharp contrast to the 2.4 million anti-Rousseff marchers on March 15.

It was the fourth time this year that demonstrators across the sprawling nation took to the streets to demand the removal of Brazil’s first female president.

With her popularity ratings at only  10 percent, Rousseff has little political muscle and the impeachment push in part reflects the country’s anger at multiple crises, including a corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court suspended for one week the commission that will recommend whether or not Congress should impeach the president, citing irregularities.

Of the 65 congressional deputies elected in controversial circumstances to the panel about 30 percent face criminal probes, according to a detailed count by specialist website Congresso em Foco.

The architect of the impeachment drive himself, House Speaker Eduardo Cunha, has been charged with taking as much as $40 million in bribes. He allegedly stashed the loot in secret Swiss accounts.