Brasília - There was an impasse yesterday when some 15,000 protesters arrived in front of Brazil's White House (Palacio do Planalto) and demanded the reopening of bingos around the country. Representatives of the protesters met with a deputy presidential aide, Cezar Alvarez, and declared afterwards that they were not satisfied. The protesters spent the night on the street in front of the Palacio do Planalto.

The head of the worker's union, Força Sindical, Paulo Pereira da Silva, declared that he did not like the idea of having to talk with a deputy presidential aide. "When you take into consideration that the president himself is a worker, a worker who knows what it is like to be unemployed, we just think he would be a little more sensitive to the plight of workers," said Silva, as he made a formal request for an audience with president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Meanwhile, minister of Justice, Marcio Thomaz Bastos, declared that the government is very much aware of the problems workers in bingos are facing, but that the administration remains firmly opposed to permitting gambling to continue. (AB)