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'Temer Out': Nationwide Strike Against Austerity Reforms in Brazil Turns Violent

© AP Photo / Leo Correa A demonstrator breaks the windshield of a truck that belongs to a subway maintenance crew after clashes with police broke out during a general strike in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, April 28, 2017.
A demonstrator breaks the windshield of a truck that belongs to a subway maintenance crew after clashes with police broke out during a general strike in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, April 28, 2017. - Sputnik International
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Brazilian police used tear gas as clashes broke out Friday amid massive protests against unpopular reforms proposed by President Michel Temer.

Civil police detain looters after they were shot in their legs, in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, Brazil, Monday, Feb 6, 2017. Protests by the friends and family of military police in Espirito Santo have led to an increase in crime and forced the shut-down of some state services, authorities said Monday. - Sputnik International
Brazil Deploys 9,000 Soldiers to Patrol Rio Amid Crime Wave, Protests
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Violence erupted on Friday in Brazil’s major cities after a general strike called by labor unions to oppose austerity reforms led to clashes between riot police and thousands of protesters, media reported.

In Rio de Janeiro, crowds blocked roads, set fire to buses and vandalized stores in protest against President Michel Temer’s pension reform proposals, the BBC broadcaster reported.

The president deplored chaos in the streets of Rio, but stressed his government would press on with its "efforts to modernize the country," according to the outlet.

Roads were also blocked in Sao Paolo. Huge crowds of people were seen marching on the president’s residence after dawn with banners that read "Temer Out." Police fired tear gas to break up the mobs.

The general strike, reportedly the first one in two decades, was called after the Brazilian government unveiled its plans to raise the retirement age and cut pension benefits in a bid to trim budget expenses, which it said were weighing the national economy down.

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