US monitoring protests in Brazil

The United States is monitoring the recent massive protests in Brazil, said the State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell Friday. "We are, indeed, monitoring events in Brazil," said Ventrell at a briefing. "Our position is clear, whether it's Brazil or other countries in the world, that peaceful demonstrations are part of what democracy is all about, citizens expressing their views and engaging government leaders about issues that matter to them." The statement came as an estimated one million people in Brazil took to the streets in the last two weeks to protest inefficient public services and heavy public spending on major international sport events, including next year's FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. There were protests in more than 100 cities across Brazil Thursday. The mass demonstrations in the country escalated on Thursday night, as protesters attempted to break into the Foreign Ministry building in Brasilia, but failed. Police were deployed to guard government headquarters. Ventrell refused to take a position on the nature of these protests. Citing the recent State Department security alerts to Americans on the protests, Ventrell said that his department will continue to "advise U.S. citizens through our security messages." "These are Brazilian citizens expressing their views to their government, and we said that peaceful protest is certainly something that's a fundamental part of democracy," he said. "But I don't think we're going to judge on the merits of the issues that they're raising with their government one way or another."