Brazil awoke to city centres still smouldering after one million protesters had taken to the streets in scores of cities, with clusters clashing with police during anti-government demonstrations.

President Dilma Rousseff called a meeting with top cabinet members and faced sharp criticism in Brazil's media for what many called her lack of leadership, while there were growing calls on social media and in emails for a general strike next week.

Standing before the battered government building over which he presides, Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota said he "was very angry" that protesters attacked a structure "that represents the search for understanding through dialogue". Patriota called for protesters "to convey their demands peacefully".

"I believe the great majority of protesters are not taking part in this violence but are looking to improve Brazil's democracy via legitimate protest," he added.

In demonstrations throughout the week, as small groups began to vandalise properties, crowds would often turn and start to chant: "No violence! No violence!"

But the pattern in cities across the nation has been that once night falls, violence begins. Protesters and police clashed in several cities into the early hours yesterday, as people vented anger over a litany of complaints, from high taxes to corruption to rising prices.

At least one protester was killed in Sao Paulo state when a car hit a group of demonstrators after the driver apparently became angered about being unable to pass crowds.

In Rio de Janeiro, with an estimated 300,000 demonstrators in the coastal city's central area, clashes played out between riot police and clusters of mostly young men with T-shirts wrapped around their faces. But peaceful protesters were also caught up in the fray, as police fired teargas canisters into their midst and at times indiscriminately used pepper spray.

Rubber bullets and gas were fired at fleeing crowds, with at least 40 people injured in Rio, including protesters such as Michele Menezes, 26. Bleeding and with her hair singed from the explosion of a teargas canister, she said she and others took refuge from the violence in an open bar, only to have a police officer throw the canister inside.

The explosion ripped through Ms Menezes's jeans, tearing two coin-sized holes on the back of her thighs, and peppered her upper arm with a rash of small holes.

"I was leaving a peaceful protest and it's not the thugs that attack me but the police themselves," said Ms Menezes. She later took refuge in a hotel, with about two dozen youths, families and others who said they had been repeatedly pepper-sprayed by police on motorcycles as they also sheltered inside a bar.

Protesters said they would not back down. "I saw some pretty scary things, but they're not going to shake me. There's another march (today) and I'm going to be there," said 19-year-old university student Fernanda Szuster.

Asked if her parents knew she was joining in the protests, Ms Szuster said: "They know and they're proud. They protested when they were young, so they think it's great."

In Brasilia, the capital, police struggled to keep hundreds of protesters from entering the Foreign Ministry and the crowd lit a small fire outside. Other government buildings were attacked around the city's central esplanade, with police using teargas and rubber bullets on demonstrators.

Clashes were also reported in the Amazon jungle city of Belem, Porto Alegre in the south, the university town Campinas, north of Sao Paulo, and the north-eastern city of Salvador.

The protests took place a week after a violent police crackdown on a much smaller demonstration against a rise in bus and subway fares in Sao Paulo galvanised Brazilians to take their grievances to the streets.

The country is hosting the Confederations Cup football tournament, with tens of thousands of foreign visitors in attendance. Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Brazil in a month's time, while concerns have been raised over security during Brazil's hosting of next year's World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.

Despite the numbers on the streets, many protesters say they are unsure how the movement can win real political concessions. People have held up placards asking for everything from education reforms to free bus fares, while denouncing the billions of public funds spent on stadiums in advance of the World Cup and Olympics.