Brazil protesters disrupt Rio military parade

Protesters in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday interrupted a military parade marking Brazil's Independence Day, prompting a clash with police that injured at least five people, authorities said. Activists across Brazil had planned a day of protests against government corruption.

Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to scatter the dozens of protesters, arresting at least 10 of them.

Five people were injured and taken to a hospital, civil police said of the clashes on Saturday.

The protesters, some masked, entered the downtown avenue where the military was parading. The demonstrators shouted slogans, and the clash with police followed. The firing of tear gas prompted spectators, many of them families with children, to flee the area.

Police chased and fired rubber bullets at several protesters who escaped through side streets, according to local news site G1. At least one bank branch near the demonstration was vandalized, it said.

The protest at the Rio parade was one of more than 100 planned anti-government demonstrations across Brazil on Saturday.

In the capital, Brasilia, about 1,000 protesters gathered peacefully in front of the Congress building.

Saturday's protests were widespread, but not nearly as large as massive demonstrations in June.

Brazilians are protesting against corruption, and against what many see as the poor quality of public services despite a heavy tax burden.

"We want better education, political reforms and media democratization. The June protests served to push Congress to approve measures -- we have to keep them alive," a student demonstrator, Philip Leite, said.

Al Jazeera and wire services