Brazil Protest
A motorcycles passes a bonfire during a protest by members of the "Free Pass" movement to demand zero tariffs in the Brazilian public transport system in Rio de Janeiro February 6, 2014. Reuter/Lucas Landau

Brazil's protests have gotten still more violent recently. On Saturday, police in Rio de Janeiro have arrested a man in connection with an explosion during a protest on Friday which seriously injured a journalist. Santiago Andrade, a camerman, suffered serious head injuries after an explosive device was detonated at the protest. However, the man arrested is claiming that he merely found the explosive device on the floor while another person detonated it.

Hundreds of people clashed with Police in Rio de Janeiro on Friday during a protest for increased fares on public transportation. Tear gas was used by riot police who attempted to disperse the crowd, however, protesters turned violent, throwing stones and bombs at the police. Fabio Raposo is the name of the man arrested - police have attempted to get him to identify the protester who detonated the explosive, however, Raposo has told Brazilian media that he did not know the man.

One of the protesters, Thai Jordao, explained to the Euro News why she was taking part in Friday's protests: “The point isn’t the public transportation fare hike, if there was a public transportation fare hike and we had good health services and education you wouldn’t have this many people on the streets. On top of this you see spending with the World Cup, things that we really don’t need. We want health, education, and decent public transportation.”

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