Dilma Rousseff promises new plan for public transport and oil cash for education while urging public to embrace World Cup
The Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, has insisted in a televised address to the nation that her government is listening to the demands of hundreds of thousands of protesters who have taken to the streets, while also warning that she would "maintain order".
After more than a week of massive protests across Brazil and often violent clashes involving the police, Rousseff finally broke a near-silence as she used a prime time television broadcast to state that peaceful demonstrations were part of a strong democracy.
Standing before a Brazilian flag, she said that the government knew there were many things "we can do quicker and better" and that Brazil "fought hard to become a democratic country" but that she could not tolerate the violence carried out by a minority of the protesters.
Rousseff pointedly referred to sacrifices her generation made to free the nation from dictatorship – she is a former Marxist rebel who fought against Brazil's 1964-85 military regime and was imprisoned for three years and tortured by the junta.
"We need to oxygenate our political system … and make it more transparent," Rousseff said in response to the protests, which have sprung from a range of grievances including poor public services, corruption and the billions of dollars spent preparing for next year's World Cup tournament and the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
Unveiling details of a series of reforms that she and her government hope will defuse the unrest of recent days, the Brazilian president announced she would draft new plans for public transport and that all oil royalties would be channelled towards education.
Thousands of doctors would be brought in from overseas to assist the Brazilian public health service, she said.
Turning to fears that the unrest has cast a shadow over Brazil's hosting of the World Cup, she described football as a symbol of peace and told viewers that it was important for Brazilians to extend a welcome to citizens of other countries who have hosted Brazilian teams and fans through the decades.
Rousseff and key ministers met on Friday following a night of protests with simultaneous demonstrations in at least 80 cities across Brazil. It is thought the total turnout may have been close to two million.