They painted their faces black, green and yellow and, in August 1992, took to the streets to bring down Fernando Collor de Mello. They were the caras-pintadas, calling for the impeachment of the president who had been governing the country since March 1990. Collor started off by confiscating our savings. The country watched, incredulous, as Finance Minister Zélia Cardoso de Melo gave her explanations: we could only have access to 20% of our money, she said, with her unfailing string of pearls.
Time passed, the Casa da Dinda (Collor's residence) grew, and corruption scandals came, exposed by his own brother, Pedro Collor de Mello. Amid strong public outcry, a Parliamentary Inquiry Committee was set up on May 27, 1992. In July, the secretary's driver revealed that he himself paid for the president's personal expenses, with money from a slush fund kept by PC Farias, his “operator”. On August 16, 1992, the “black Sunday” took place. Thousands of young people took to the streets of the state capitals, dressed in black and with painted faces, as a sign of mourning against corruption. In Rio, more than 30 thousand chanted in unison:
Ai, ai, ai, ai, se empurrar o Collor cai
One of the countless demonstrations for the impeachment of Collor - 1992. Source: Aventuras na História
Image description: The image is a photograph of a public demonstration. The crowd occupies most of the image, with people holding flags and banners. On the left side, there are yellow flags with red and black lettering. In front, there is a white banner with black letters reading "FORA COLOR!" and "PROXIMO CAPITULO:". On the right, there are more banners with different messages, including one with the number "15.605". People are gathered in an urban setting, possibly a square or street.Students from public and private universities in Rio, Niterói, and Baixada Fluminense took part in the march, which started at Candelária and made its way down Rio Branco avenue to Cinelândia. High school students joined the movement: at a meeting at Colégio São Vicente, students from Santo Inácio, Zaccaria, Senador Correia, and Santa Úrsula decided to wear black armbands made from garbage bags and take to the streets. They organized an “arrastão” that, from early on, swept through the gates of several schools, drawing thousands of young people to Candelária.
Dozens of demonstrations followed those of August 16. On September 2, the impeachment process was opened, driven by the massive presence of people in the streets. Then, on September 9, in a historic session, the Chamber of Deputies approved the admissibility of the impeachment. And, finally, on December 29, 1992, Collor resigned from the Presidency of the Republic and the vice president, Itamar Franco, took his place.
The participation of young "caras-pintadas" students was decisive for this historic event.
Young people and students joined together in public demonstrations during the impeachment process of Collor. Source: Educa mais Brasil website
Image description: The image is a black-and-white photograph of a crowd at a protest or demonstration. The spatial arrangement is front-facing, with people filling the entire frame. From left to right, we see the faces of participants with painted faces, some holding sticks or flags. In the center, a man with a painted face holding a flag stands out. On the right, other demonstrators watch the event. Everyone appears to be focused on something outside the frame.It looks like the source text you intended to include is missing — only "Referências:" (References:) was provided, with no content to translate. Could you please share the full text you'd like translated? Once I have it, I'll provide the English (US) translation following all the formatting rules (preserving markers, links, and placeholders exactly as specified).
MOREIRA, Maria Ester Lopes. Caras Pintadas. Available at: CPDOC - Fundação Getúlio Vargas.
