Why millions of Brazilians protested against their president,

Opponents blame Ms Rousseff for a severe recession and a corruption scandal also engulfing her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. She has said she has no intention of resigning but her opponents hope a large turnout on the streets will lead to her impeachment. She faces charges over masking the budget deficit, which she denies. 'Dilma out' Crowds in Sao Paulo at the peak of the march reached 1.4 million, the city's state security office said. ADVERTISEMENT Smaller marches took place in many cities across the coutnry. The demonstrations were peaceful, with tens of thousands wearing the national colours of yellow and green and holding banners that read "Dilma out" and "Stop with corruption". "I support her impeachment and new elections because the presidential vote in 2014 was financed with dirty money from corruption," said protester Alexandre Cortes, a 39-year-old engineer in Sao Paulo. Correspondents have described the crisis as the worst in Brazil for many years. The BBC's Wyre Davies says Ms Rousseff, leader of the governing Workers' Party has come under increasing pressure in recent months over a huge corruption investigation, centred on the state-controlled oil company Petrobras.