Weekly Report - 14 January 2016 (WR-16-02)

BRAZIL | Protests over bus fares. Bus fares in at least 18 Brazilian cities, including São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, went up by over 10% in early January. On 8 January, thousands took to the streets in both cities to protest against the fare increases; in São Paulo there were minor clashes with the police. On 12 January there were more sizeable protests in São Paulo again, prompting an aggressive crackdown by police and dozens of arrests.
Worryingly for both the federal and state governments, protests over bus fares marked the start to the major unrest of June 2013. With the political and economic situation much worse than two-and-a-half years ago, President Dilma Rousseff is reportedly keeping a close eye on those cities who have allowed fares to increase.