Cleanup begins in Rio's Legislative Assembly after protester break-in

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Brazilian authorities on Wednesday began cleanup efforts after protesters broke into the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro during anti-austerity demonstrations.

Thousands of retirees, pensioners and public servants -- including police, firefighters and prison officers -- broke into the legislative chamber and remained inside for three hours on Tuesday.

The demonstrators were protesting against austerity measures proposed by Luiz Fernando Pezao, Rio de Janeiro's governor. Proposed measures include cuts to social spending, a tax hike for retired people, a sales tax increase and a public transportation fare increase.

Jorge Picciani, president of the Legislative Assembly, said no changes would me made to the proposed austerity measures, O Globo reported. He called the incident "unfortunate" and "an affront to the democratic rule of law unprecedented in the political history of Brazil."

Rio de Janeiro declared a financial emergency ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics as it struggles amid a financial crisis due to a drop in global oil and commodity prices, as well as decreasing tax revenues.

Brazil's federal government froze the bank accounts of the Rio de Janeiro state over millions of dollars of unpaid debts on Monday.

Public workers throughout the state have not been paid for months and Pezao warns if the measures are not approved, the state will not be able to guarantee workers would receive full payments in 2017.