200,000 Brazilians vent anger at rallies in more than half a dozen cities

As many as 200,000 demonstrators marched through the streets of Brazil's biggest cities in a swelling wave of protest tapping into widespread anger at poor public services, police violence and government corruption.

The marches, the biggest in 20 years and organised mostly through snowballing social media campaigns, blocked streets and halted traffic in more than a half a dozen cities, including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasilia, where demonstrators climbed onto the roof of Brazil's Congress building and then stormed it.

Monday's protests were the latest of a flurry in the past two weeks that have added to growing unease over Brazil's sluggish economy, high inflation and a spurt in violent crime.

While most of the protests unfolded as a festive display of dissent, some demonstrators in Rio threw rocks at police, set fire to a parked car and vandalised the state assembly building. Vandals also destroyed property in the southern city of Porto Alegre.

Around the country, protesters waved Brazilian flags, dancing and chanting slogans such as "The people have awakened" and "Pardon the inconvenience, Brazil is changing".

The epicentre of Monday's march shifted from Sao Paulo, where 65,000 people took to the streets in the afternoon, to Rio. There, as protesters gathered in the evening, peaking at 100,000, police said. At least 20,000 more gathered in Belo Horizonte.

Brazilians are collectively questioning the status quo for the first time after a decade of steady economic growth. They have gathered pace as Brazil is hosting the Confederations Cup, a dry run for next year's World Cup soccer championship. The government hopes these events, along with the 2016 Olympics, will showcase Brazil as an emerging power on the global stage.