Brazil strikes and protests add concerns on run-up to World Cup
It seems like every day there's a new report painting a grim picture of the impending FIFA World Cup that will take place in Brazil next month! Recent reports state that stadiums, airports and other event related facilities aren't completely- Former Brazilian soccer star Romario, now a politician, is one of the most vehement critics, demanding to know why FIFA has forced Brazil to pay for “first-world stadiums when we cannot afford first-world hospitals and schools”. Football legend Pele
- Many Brazilian leaders had hoped the World Cup and then the 2016 Olympics in Rio would put a favorable spotlight on the country, showing advances over the past decade in improving its economy and pulling tens of millions out of poverty.
- The decision to host the event in 12 cities will be the most than in any previous World Cup. This decision would mean the 32 teams and their spectators will have a lot of travelling to do between games.
- Similar protests last year during the Confederations Cup, a World Cup warm-up event, drew one million people into the streets and turned violent at times, embarrassing tournament organizers.
- Bus drivers, teachers and military police are among the few groups who have repeatedly abandoned their posts causing even more disruption and chaos. Officials responsible for World Cup security have said there are contingency plans in place to deal
- At the center of the ongoing protests in Brazil (since June last year) lie the people's demands for better education, health care, public services, the right to protest peacefully and a less corrupted government and police force.
- The 2014 World Cup official soccer ball, called 'Brazuca', painted by protesters with a red cross and placed in front a cross, forms part of a tribute to children who have died from stray bullets during police operations, on Copacabana beach in Rio
- Initially, Brazil's plan was to host the event in only eight cities, however it was late decided to host the event in twelve cities thus displacing many more locals and increasing costs.
- Manaus is surrounded on three sides by mostly impassible jungle and on the other by rivers: the enormous Rio Negro and the almost unimaginably more powerful Amazon River. Photo: AP
- The second most expensive soccer stadium in the world, Brasília's Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha stadium, that was constructed solely for the World Cup used up $900 million of public funds that will likely be "abandoned" once the tournament is over.
- The cases have doubled from 341 to 698. - Via web
- Protesters and police clashed several times over the last few months in Sao Paulo, as demonstrations against the World Cup and rallies calling for improved public services erupted in several Brazilian cities.
- One of the biggest causes of the unrest is linked to the millions the Brazilian government has shelled out for the event from public funds.
- Brazil’s civilian police force, which handles criminal investigations, has opened a probe to see whether the strike is a crime. But the same police force was itself on strike in seven of Brazil’s 26 states and the capital, Brasilia, calling for
- Adding to concerns about public safety before the year’s biggest sporting spectacle, police detectives staged a partial walkout in many parts of the country.
- A bus drivers’ strike in Sao Paulo stranded more than two million passengers on Wednesday, just 22 days before the Brazilian mega city hosts the opening match of the World Cup.
It seems like every day there's a new report painting a grim picture of the impending FIFA World Cup that will take place in Brazil next month! Recent reports state that stadiums, airports and other event related facilities aren't completely
Brazil strikes and protests add concerns on run-up to World Cup
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