Demonstrators clash with riot police during a protest, the biggest one in 20 years, in front of Rio de Janeiro's Legislative Assembly building on Monday. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of major Brazilian cities protesting the billions of dollars spent on the Confederations Cup - and preparations for the upcoming World Cup - and against the hike in mass transit fares. Photo: AFP

As many as 200,000 demonstrators marched through the streets of Brazil's biggest cities on Monday in a swelling wave of protest tapping into widespread anger at poor public services, police violence and government corruption.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said on Tuesday the massive protests that have swept the country in recent weeks represent legitimate calls for better public services and more responsive governance at all levels.

Speaking the morning after hundreds of thousands of Brazilians marched through cities nationwide, Rousseff said her government remains committed to social change and is listening attentively to the many grievances expressed at the demonstrations.

The marches, organized mostly through snowballing social media campaigns, blocked streets and halted traffic in more than a half-dozen cities, including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasilia, where demonstrators climbed onto the roof of Brazil's Congress building and then stormed it.

Monday's demonstrations were the latest in a flurry of protests in the past two weeks that have added to growing unease over Brazil's sluggish economy, high inflation and a spurt in violent crime.

While most of the protests unfolded as a festive display of dissent, some demonstrators in Rio threw rocks at police, set fire to a parked car and vandalized the state assembly building. Vandals also destroyed property in the southern city of Porto Alegre.

Around the country, protesters waved Brazilian flags, dancing and chanting slogans such as "The people have awakened" and "Pardon the inconvenience, Brazil is changing."

The epicenter of Monday's march shifted from Sao Paulo, where some 65,000 people took to the streets late in the afternoon, to Rio. There, as demonstrators gathered throughout the evening, crowds ballooned to 100,000 people, local police said. At least 20,000 more gathered in Belo Horizonte.

Reuters