The homecoming of Brazil’s far-right presidential frontrunner Jair Bolsonaro from hospital was upstaged this weekend by huge demonstrations as concerns over his authoritarian tendencies grew. Bolsonaro flew from São Paulo to his home in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, three weeks after being stabbed during campaigning, while tens of thousands of women filled the streets in cities across Brazil to protest against his extremist positions ahead of the 7 October election.

The G1 news site reported anti-Bolsonaro protests in all Brazil’s 27 states grew out of a Facebook group called Women United Against Bolsonaro which nearly 4 million people have joined. Pro-Bolsonaro demonstrations took place in 16 states, the site said. The piauí magazine website called the demonstrations “historic” and printed a photo of an enormous crowd in São Paulo which organisers claimed half a million attended, though police did not provide an estimate.

In Rio the huge crowds that filled the city centre were notable for their diversity – with women of all ages, many of whom had brought children, male and LGBT demonstrators, chanting “not him”, an anti-Bolsonaro hashtag that has become a campaign slogan shared by celebrities like Madonna.(theguardian)…[+]