It is carnival season again in Brazil, with the festivities kicking off today. But an eve-of-party party on Thursday night saw twin protests.<br /><br />Carnival’s anything goes atmosphere includes dress codes, with scantily-clad men and women an annual highlight of the parade, providing endless eye candy for tourists.<br /><br />So why is sunbathing topless on the Copacabana banned the rest of the year? For a small group of women an all-over tan is worth protesting about.<br /><br />“I think it’s hypocrisy. I’m doing this so I can go topless at the beach. Why are we allowed to do this at the carnival but not on the beach – what’s the difference?” said protest leader Ana Paula Nogueira.<br /><br />Just around the corner from their street party another group of demonstrators, calling themselves Occupy Carnival, were celebrating the imminent departure of Rio de Janeiro’s unpopular governor.<br /><br />He has been under fire since the June 2013 anti-government demonstrations and resigns in April so he can run in the October elections.
