Clash between protesters, police turns Rio into chaos

Protesters against bus fare hikes clashed with police on Monday evening, turning the downtown area of this Brazilian city into chaos.

During the protest, organized via the Internet by a group which claimed that Brazil's urban transport fares are too high, some 300 people gathered in front of the town assembly building and blocked some of the most important avenues in the area.

Violence erupted after a special-operations police unit arrived to contain the rally. Police shot rubber bullets and used stink bombs and pepper spray to disperse the crowd, while the demonstrators threw coconuts at the police.

It was the second protest against bus fare increases in less than a week. On Friday, a similar protest also ended up in a clash with the police, in which two people were injured and four others arrested.

Protests against bus fare rises also occurred in Sao Paulo, Goiania and Natal on Friday. A new protest has been scheduled for Tuesday in Sao Paulo.

On June 1, the bus ticket in Rio was raised from 2.75 reais to 2.95 reais (1.27 U.S. dollars to 1.37 U.S. dollars), which is among the highest in the country. Most of the buses operating in Rio do not have air-conditioning systems.