Police disperse anti-Bolsonaro protesters in Brazil

Police say they used tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Brazil’s largest city on Sunday as groups protesting and supporting President Jair Bolsonaro neared a clash.

The demonstration by several hundred black-clad members of football fan groups in Sao Paulo appeared to be the largest anti-Bolsonaro street march in months in a country that has become an epicenter of the spreading COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of the protesters chanted “Democracy!” as they marched.

The executive secretary of the military police, Alvaro Batista Camilo, said police fired gas to keep the groups apart after some Bolsonaro backers carrying what he called a neo-Nazi flag approached the protesters. Supporters of the president have gathered weekly to back the president and his calls for easing restrictions on movement, gatherings and work.

He said police continued aiming largely at the anti-Bolsonaro group because it was slower to disperse.

Police didn’t immediately have information about any arrests or injuries.

Brazil has reported nearly half a million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 28,000 deaths — figures widely considered understatements due to a lack of adequate testing.

Police also used tear gas against anti-Bolsonaro demonstrators who clashed with pro-government groups in Rio de Janeiro.

Bolsonaro himself turned out to meet backers in the capital, Brasilia, mounted on a federal police horse. He wore no mask despite a decree by the Federal District’s government making that practice mandatory in public.