National protests put government on notice in Brazil
Significance The protests followed smaller pro-government demonstrations on March 13. Rousseff faces growing social discontent, not only over corruption claims linked to the Petrobras scandal, but also rising unemployment, inflation and taxes. Although no leading opposition party or organisation is coordinating the protests, the government is concerned about the negative impact on Rousseff's approval ratings. Impacts Inflation this year is forecast to surpass the 6.5% maximum target by at least 1 percentage point. Unemployment rose from 4.3% in December to 5.3% in January; companies involved in the Petrobras scandal may see heavy job losses. The government is tightening fiscal policy and establishing new rules to fight tax evasion, but faces congressional opposition.