Security has been increased in Brazil’s biggest cities ahead of mass demonstrations planned by protesters.

The continuing unrest has forced President Dilma Rousseff to call off her planned trip to Japan.

Protesters in Sao Paulo said they would take to the streets “to celebrate” the reversal of a public-transport fare increase announced on Wednesday.

The protests, which were originally triggered by the increase, have since grown into a much wider movement.

Demonstrators are angry at corruption and spending on next year’s World Cup.

Fenced off

The authorities in the city of Rio de Janeiro have erected barricades around the state legislature building, which was vandalised during protests on Monday.

The state governor’s office, Guanabara Palace, has also been secured by a double layer of barricades.

Workers have also fenced off the elevated walkways opposite the mayor’s office and at central underground train stations.

A number of Rio shopkeepers have put up wooden hoardings to protect the front of their businesses and some banks have done the same.

Protesters earlier told the BBC’s Julia Carneiro in Rio they would not march to the city’s Maracana stadium, which is currently hosting a Confederations Cup match between Spain and Tahiti.

Meanwhile, President Rousseff’s office announced that her trip to Japan planned for next week had been called off. Another visit to the Brazilian state of Bahia has also been put on hold.

In a statement, the office acknowledged that the decision had been taken as a result of the continuing demonstrations.

The BBC Brasil editor in Sao Paulo, Gary Duffy, says this is another indication of the seriousness of the situation confronting the president, who earlier said she was proud that so many people were fighting for a better country.

Previous Confederations Cup matches have drawn protests, with demonstrators expressing their anger at steep ticket prices and the money spent on the Confederations Cup, the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics.

In the city of Fortaleza, which was hosting the Brazil v Mexico match on Wednesday, demonstrators carried banners reading: “A teacher is worth more than Neymar”, in a reference to Brazil’s star footballer.

‘Significant benefits’

On Thursday, the International Olympic Committee said it was confident the 2016 Olympics would bring major benefits to Rio de Janeiro and the country.

In a statement to the Associated Press news agency, the IOC said the Olympics would “bring significant benefits to the whole population of Rio, improving the city in terms of transport, infrastructure and social housing, as well as bringing a considerable sporting legacy for Brazil”.

The controversy over bus and metro fares was only the issue that got the marchers on to the streets – it all seems much bigger than that now.

The objectives of this diverse protest movement are very broad, such as demanding better education and health services. A sluggish economy and inflation that is affecting the lives of ordinary Brazilians every day can be added to the mix.

Politicians with high salaries giving jobs and flights to relatives are widely scorned. Inequality and the huge cost of hosting the World Cup and the Olympics are key issues raised by demonstrators alongside corruption, crime and police brutality.

“We are always fully supportive of peaceful protest and remain confident in the ability of the games as a powerful catalyst for improving the world through sport,” the statement continued.

In Sao Paulo, members of the Free Access Movement (Movimento Passe Livre) – which has been campaigning for better public transport – said they would march through the city on Thursday to celebrate the mayor’s decision to reverse a 2 June fare increase.

Mayor Fernando Haddad said the reversal was a “big sacrifice”, which meant other investments would have to be cut.

‘Disgusted’

Sao Paulo and Rio are the latest two cities to reverse the fare increases after similar moves by the authorities in Cuiaba, Recife and Joao Pessoa.

The fare rollback while welcomed by many has so far failed to quell the protests, with crowds blocking main roads in Sao Paulo and Brasilia, and protesters confronting police in Rio de Janeiro state shortly after the U-turn was announced.

“This means that our politicians have begun to hear our voices. This is something that has never happened before – in a non-election year, at least,” Daniel Acosta from Sao Paulo told the BBC.

“It’s a start. What happens now, nobody knows yet, but it gives us hope,” he added.

But 18-year-old student Camila Sena said the protests had become much wider and the concession on fare prices would not change much.

“It’s not really about the price [of transport] any more,” she said while taking part in a protest in the city of Niteroi, near Rio de Janeiro, on Wednesday.

“People are so disgusted with the system, so fed up that now we’re demanding change.”

The current unrest is the biggest since 1992, when people took to the streets to demand the impeachment of then-President Fernando Collor de Mello.

BBC