Thousands of Brazilians protest debt, poverty

SAO PAULO, Brasil (Reuters) -- Thousands of protesters jammed plazas and streets on Brazil's Independence Day on Thursday to push the government to cut foreign debt payments and spend more to fight poverty, organizers said.

The protests -- dubbed the "Cry of the Excluded" -- brought together Roman Catholic leaders, landless movements and the poor to spotlight what campaigners say is government neglect of millions of Brazilians living in poverty.

The peaceful demonstrations at times ran parallel to military parades saluting 178 years of Brazilian independence.

Protesters packed main thoroughfares in the financial capital Sao Paulo, the political capital Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Campinas and Salvador, among others. More than 100,000 people turned out in the town of Aparecida in Sao Paulo state.

Protesters rallied behind an unofficial referendum, which ended on Thursday after six days of voting, that called for foreign debt payments to be slashed. Organizers say debt payments have widened the gap between rich and poor.

Government figures show public sector long-term foreign debts will total $96 billion at the end of 2000.

Brazil's National Council of Bishops (CNBB), which organized the nonbinding plebiscite, hailed what it said was a turnout of more than 1 million people in this nation of 165 million, Latin America's largest.

"There was a lot of voting in all states," said Alfredo Goncalvez of the CNBB. "The plebiscite fulfilled its objective, which was to bring this issue to the public eye."

Brazilian government officials have dismissed the plebiscite as antiquated and an untimely move given the country's recent economic progress.

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