Violence breaks out at Brazil protest
Police fired tear gas and stun grenades Wednesday in confrontations with a crowd of at least 25,000 marching on Brazil's presidential palace to demand the resignation of embattled President Michel Temer and an end to austerity reforms. Organized by leftist groups and trade unions, the protesters poured into the center of Brazil's capital and advanced on the Planalto presidential palace. Police stopped them from approaching further with a barrage of gas, while some protesters threw stones back. "Out with Temer," the crowd chanted. Brazil's left smells blood just over a year since Temer took over from Workers' Party president Dilma Rousseff after she was impeached for illegally manipulating government accounts. Temer, from the center-right PMDB party, is reeling from a probe into his alleged corruption and opponents say he could soon be removed from power. The future of his market-friendly reforms package -- especially cuts in the country's generous but unaffordable pension system -- is equally unclear.
