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| - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and hundreds of hard-core supporters ignored coronavirus warnings Sunday to hold rallies that accused Congress and the courts of hindering the far-right leader -- with some openly calling for a coup. Despite health officials' calls to scrap public gatherings, supporters gathered in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and several other cities, many wearing face-masks printed with messages such as "The virus are the scums in Congress." Bolsonaro himself joined the rally in Brasilia, driving through a crowd of cheering supporters in his motorcade, then shaking hands and taking selfies with a group outside the presidential palace. "What you people are doing is priceless," news site UOL quoted him as saying. The health ministry has recommended Bolsonaro remain in isolation two weeks after being exposed to coronavirus when several officials in his delegation tested positive following a presidential trip to the United States last week. Bolsonaro has tested negative, but under health ministry protocol needs two more tests to confirm the result, a ministry spokesman said. But as he interacted with the crowd in Brasilia, Bolsonaro had ditched the face mask he wore last week before his test. Critics condemned the pro-Bolsonaro rallies as anti-democratic, in a country still haunted by memories of the atrocities committed by its military dictatorship (1964-1985) -- whose legacy the president, a former army captain, openly admires. But neither that nor the coronavirus pandemic stopped Bolsonaro's most fervent backers. "This is a protest against Congress, because they don't let Bolsonaro govern," said demonstrator Rogerio Galhardo, 60, a businessman carrying a Brazilian flag. "All they want to do is steal," his wife, 45-year-old teacher Patricia Monteiro, told AFP. Bolsonaro is locked in a dispute with Congress over 30 billion reals (around $6.2 billion) of discretionary spending in the federal budget. Lawmakers want to shift the power over that money from the executive to Congress. But the dispute has turned into something bigger, with some Bolsonaro backers openly calling for a new coup to let him make sweeping reforms. "The people call on the National Defense Council to stage a constitutional military intervention for 90 days," said a banner hanging from a giant sound truck at the Rio rally. Bolsonaro had faced criticism for supporting the rallies. Opponents accused him of attacking the country's democratic institutions. He later discouraged people from attending -- not because of his critics, but because of coronavirus. But that did not stop him from participating in the Brasilia rally and posting videos of the demos on his social media accounts. jhb/jm
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