Singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso, a living legend of Brazilian music, was jailed and exiled by his country's military dictatorship in the 1960s

Singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso, a living legend of Brazilian music, was jailed and exiled by his country's military dictatorship in the 1960s.

President Jair Bolsonaro's government is doing things that are even worse, he said Wednesday as he led a protest against its environmental policies.

Veloso, 79, led a rally that drew thousands of people to the seat of power in Brasilia to condemn the far-right president's moves to pass a series of bills activists say would accelerate the surging destruction of the Amazon rainforest, with catastrophic consequences in Brazil and beyond.

Between hand-delivering a damning letter to the leader of the Senate and headlining a star-studded concert outside Congress, the veteran musician spoke with AFP about his call for Brazilians to flood the streets.

Animated and impassioned, wearing a floral-print shirt that evoked his days founding the trailblazing "Tropicalia" movement, Veloso explained why he vehemently opposes Brazil's direction under Bolsonaro, who is up for reelection in October.