What began as a demonstration over a modest increase in bus fares has exposed widespread dissatisfaction with the state of Brazil’s economy.  In fact, protesters swarmed the nation’s capital building, an amazing scene captured on video.

Protests spread to several cities and often went out of control, including in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Sao Paulo, and the capital city Brasilia, where protesters incredibly invaded the Oscar Niemeyer-designed national congress building and climbed to the roof (find out why Oscar might have supported the young protesters).

The equivalent of a 10 cent hike in bus fares as the last straw for Brazilians exhausted by a growing wealth gap between the top earners and the working class, as well as the government’s seeming unwillingness to deal with official corruption, public health, and crumbling infrastructure. 

Meanwhile, the country is spending a lot of money on getting ready for the World Cup next year and the Summer Olympics a year after that.  The Confederation Cup soccer tournament was supposed to be a dress rehearsal for those major world events, but instead its opening days have been marked by demonstrations and rioting.