Brazil's crisis may spell political change

THIS past weekend, tens of thousands marched through the major cities of Brazil for the third time this year, demanding the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, who is confronting a major political scandal at a time of economic crisis.

Even with lower numbers, the symbolism spoke volumes. Thousands occupied Copacabana Beach in Rio, wearing the country's yellow and green football shirts and carrying signs saying: "Dilma out". In Sao Paulo, the industrial engine room of Latin America, over 100,000 people took over the city centre to insist that the president should go. Even in her home city, the mining capital of Belo Horizonte, the crowds gathered.

Despite the circumstances, Ms Rousseff appeared remarkably calm - surprising in a country where a president has been ousted by street protests as recently as 1992. In an interview broadcast on the eve of these demonstrations, she insisted that she had no intention of resigning. Ducking all offers to criticise her opponents, she remarked: "We Brazilians are learning how to live with each ot…