Anti-corruption protest sweeps across Rio's most famous beach

Thousands of people on Tuesday marched throughout the major Brazilian cities to demand that the government do more to stop rampant public corruption.

The protest was held in conjunction with an unusual display at Rio de Janeiro's famous Copacabana beach, where an NGO planted 594 brooms in the sand, representing the country's 81 senators and 513 members of the lower chamber.

"National Congress, help us sweep out corruption in Brazil," read a sign that was set up by the so-called Rio for Peace Movement.

The protest comes a week after Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff accepted the latest resignation of another Cabinet member, 81-year-old Tourism Minister Pedro Novais, on corruption allegations. Novais is accused of paying a domestic employee with public money for seven years. Since January, four of her Cabinet officials have resigned on corruption allegations.

Novais' resignation comes at a critical time for Rousseff's government, which is in the middle of a complete infrastructure overhaul as Brazil prepares to host the 2014 soccer World Cup and the Olympic Games in 2016.

"The purpose of our initiative is to make people aware of the extent of rampant corruption and to demand greater transparency in the management of public funds as the diversion of money is responsible for thousands of deaths in Brazil," said Antonio Carlos Costa, the leader of the Rio for Peace Movement.

The NGO has also begun a campaign to combat violence in Rio de Janeiro, one of Brazil's most violent cities.