Bolsonaro supporters rally on national day

Tens of thousands of supporters dressed in yellow shirts and holding flags turned out on the streets of several cities on Tuesday as Brazil marked its Independence Day. Counter-demonstrators also stepped out to decry the country’s economy and call for President Jair Bolsonaro’s impeachment. At least 100 military police guarded the Congress, while several dozen formed two barricade lines down the road leading to the Supreme Court.

Why the rallies? Demonstrators heeded the call of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is locked in a feud with the Supreme Court and is battling a slump in his poll ratings. The apex court had ordered an investigation into the president and his allies for financing violence and disseminating false information on social media. Last week, Bolsonaro said the court judges should consider the rallies as “an ultimatum,” and has said he might reject the 2022 presidential election outcome if he loses. “I want to tell those who want to make me unelectable in Brazil: Only God removes me from there,” he told supporters in Sao Paulo.

Dig deeper: Read Jamie Dean’s WORLD Magazine report on Bolsonaro’s influence in the region.