MASS crowds united at the weekend in protest demanding the impeachment and jailing of far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro over corruption and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We have come to shout at the top of our voices: Bolsonaro’s place is behind bars,” Democratic Labour Party president Carlos Lupi told thousands at a rally in Rio de Janeiro.

Communist Party of Brazil congresswoman Jandira Feghali called for a broad coalition against Mr Bolsonaro’s “fascist administration.”

At least “600,000 lives have been lost,” she said. “We can wait no longer. It is time for us to scream out loud: ‘Bolsonaro out now!’”

In Sao Paolo, ABC Metalworkers Union president Wagner Santana praised “the beauty of people who are here fighting for a better Brazil, a Brazil without hunger.”

He slammed the government for conditions which see 14 million unemployed and “more than 100 million who don’t know what they’re going to eat the next day.”

Demonstrations took place in at least 160 towns and cities across the country , the biggest display of dissatisfaction with Mr Bolsonaro since he came to power in 2019.

The former army captain has seen his approval ratings plummet due to the country’s deepening economic crisis while he and members of his family are under investigation over corruption and hindering the country’s fight against coronavirus.

Around 61 per cent of Brazilians described his government’s performance as bad or very bad, up from 23 per cent when he first took office, according to an Atlas Institute survey.

More than 100 requests have been filed for Mr Bolsonaro’s impeachment, but they have not been acted on by the head of the country’s Chamber of Deputies.

Former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has described Mr Bolsonaro’s handling of the pandemic as “the biggest genocide in our history.”

Polls suggest that he will condemn the incumbent to a crushing defeat in next year’s presidential election.