Rio carnival kicks off with street celebrations

The world-famous carnival of Rio de Janeiro kicked off on Saturday with street parties and revelry.

Rio de Janeiro: Rio de Janeiro's world-famous carnival kicked off with street parties and revelry on Saturday amid expectations the first such celebration since Jair Bolsonaro took office would target the far-right president.

At the "Ceu na Terra" (Heaven on Earth) street party, some revelers' costumes targeted an early corruption scandal in the Bolsonaro government.

Fernanda Dias and her partner, Marcelo Oliveira, wore matching orange shorts and T-shirts with oranges with an orange hat, a nod to so-called "orange employees", the use by politicians of ghost employees to launder money.

Dias' costume also bore the names of Bolsonaro's son and his former driver over suspicious payments.

Just three weeks into Bolsonaro's government, questions were raised about suspicious payments to his son's and wife's bank accounts from the driver, who many suspect was an "orange employee".