Thousands of performers from Rio de Janeiro's top samba schools paraded through the Sambadrome on Sunday night as part of Brazil's famous carnival, which kicked off a couple of days earlier.

After singing the national anthem, members of seven samba schools danced, played music and sang at he Sambadrome but not just to celebrate the annual carnival but also to bring attention to the country's problems, expressing concerns and demanding solutions.

"That is carnival, an expression, a cultural expression", said Monique Rissedo, one of the dancers from Imperio Serrano samba school, which opened the first night of the parade.

"Since a long time Rio de Janeiro has been suffering difficulties. One governor takes power, the other one leaves and things keep happening in the worst way possible so it was time for the (samba) schools to get together, give an opinion and protest to see if things get better", said Ivan Sales, a member of Imperio Serrano.

Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, the first such celebration since Jair Bolsonaro took office, is primarily targeting the far-right president known for offending the LGBT community and minorities.

Some of the top samba schools said their reaction to Brazil's sharp turn to the right was a parade dedicated to untold parts of Brazil's history and problems, some of which were depicted in the design of floats.

The protest was not just at the Sambodrome but also in the streets, where revellers at several street parties were also protesting against the politicians, corruption, the economic crisis and other problems suffered by the Latin America's largest country.

Each of the samba schools parades for about an hour, until the early hours of Monday, and is judged in 10 categories, from the quality of the drum sections to the beauty of the costumes and floats.

The world's biggest carnival officially ends on Ash Wednesday for the beginning of the somber Christian season of Lent, leading up to Easter.