Pressure mounts on Rousseff to quit after Petrobras graft scandal
Protesters turn outin droves to condemn failing economy and inaction on corruption
Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians have taken to the streets, venting anger over government corruption and a souring economy a month after protests gathered more than a million people.
With cries of "Dilma out" and "corrupt government," marchers - many wearing the yellow and green jerseys of the national football team - called for President Dilma Rousseff's ousting and an end to impunity for corruption.
Police put turn-out on Sunday at 682,000 people who marched in 195 cities, while organisers gave a total estimate of 1.5 million - around half of them attending the largest gathering, in business centre Sao Paulo.
Beyond the widening graft scandal at state-owned oil giant Petrobras, protesters also expressed displeasure over rising inflation and soaring utility bills.
Those pocketbook issues - as well as the perceived erosion of workers' rights - have fuelled growing opposition to the leftist president, re-elected in October.
Rio hosted two modest protests at the tourist magnet of Copacabana beach, where media put participants at about 10,000.
The 800,000 estimate by organisers in the city would put the national total on par with last month's demonstrations.
Dianara Loubet, a 75-year-old yoga instructor, said: "We have come to show what is going on in Brazil - this government is doing nothing. The people must show their dissatisfaction."
Marchers converged on the capital Brasilia, where some protesters hung a banner calling for the army to intervene.
Public confidence in Brazil's political class has slumped with the detention or questioning of dozens of lawmakers and officials, including the treasurer of the ruling Workers Party over an alleged multibillion-dollar kickback scheme at Petrobras.
Thomaz Albuquerque, a 38-year-old attending a Copacabana rally, pointed to "political and legal reasons to call for Dilma's impeachment".
"She was the president of the Petrobras board during the worst phase of the 'Petrolao' graft scandal. That is reason enough," Albuquerque said.
Rousseff is herself not under investigation, despite her former ties to the company, but the widening probe has fingered a swath of her party colleagues and close allies.
