Blog author comment: ... basically, left overs and scraps are not enough anymore!
By Anthony Boadle and Tatiana Ramil
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BRASILIA/BELO HORIZONTE (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets on Wednesday in new demonstrations calling for a crackdown on corruption and better public services, just a day after Congress ceded to some of the key demands galvanizing protests across the country.
In Belo Horizonte, some 50,000 people gathered to demand improved education and healthcare as Brazil's third-largest city hosted a Confederations Cup semi-final soccer game between Brazil and Uruguay in a warm-up for the 2014 World Cup.
Hooded youths threw stones at police who used teargas to stop marchers 1-1/2 miles from the stadium. A banner hung from a bridge read "FIFA go home" in reference to the world soccer body.
In Brasilia, demonstrators kicked soccer balls over a police cordon in the direction of Congress in a peaceful protest against the billions of dollars Brazil has spent building new stadiums for the global tournaments which the protesters say should have been used to improve public services including health, education and transport.
Police deployed in force and shut off traffic in the central esplanade of Brazil's modernistic capital, where federal ministries allowed their employees to go home early.
About 2,000 people marched peacefully in the northeastern city of Recife to denounce corruption.
Almost two weeks after a wave of discontent suddenly erupted into Brazil's biggest protests in 20 years, the country's shaken political leadership is scrambling to respond to popular pressure for change.
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