Thousands of people took to the streets and marched in cities across Brazil on Saturday as part of a women-led protest against far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro.

The demonstrations were a manifestation of the #NotHim movement that has gathered steam on social media in recent weeks, and began early afternoon in scores of cities nationwide including Sao Paulo and the capital, Brasilia.

The crowd accused Bolsonaro of homophobic, sexist, racist and anti-democratic activities.

Hours before the protest, hundreds gathered in Rio de Janeiro in support of Bolsonaro and his stronger security platform.