The Protests
This morning, instead of waking up to Independence Day celebration preparations (passing sunscreen, painting flags on faces, preparing picnic cooler etc), I woke up to the news showing live footage of protests in Rio, Brasilia, São Paulo and Curitiba. Hundreds of thousands of protesters were marching all over Brazil today and no where was is exactly peaceful. Police were throwing gas bombs and chasing the protesters, making arrests, protesters were causing or attempting to cause damage to private and public property, people were getting injured, etc. It was pretty crazy to watch. Even my medium sized city was affected. The Independence day parade was cancelled because of earlier violence that occurred in the week (two buses were set on fire).
Where did this Madness come from?
Well, protests certainly are not new here in Brazil. Where there is corruption there are protests and Brazil certainly has its share of all that is corrupt. *Please don't deport me* From what I perceived Brazilian protests caught US attention a few months back when the cost of public transportation rose and consequently a few modes of public transportation burst into flames. The rise in the cost of riding the bus was the last straw, on top of a 792 thousand other straws that caused the population to revolt. Brazilians are pissed. They want the members of their corrupt government, who went to trial and were found guilty of being corrupt (I am over simplifying a specific situation), to go to jail. They want the government to stop investing billions in extravagant stadiums and infrastructure to support the World Cup and Olympics in 2014 and 2016 respectively, and invest in a much needed better education and healthcare system. They want politicians to stop giving themselves huge bonuses of tax payer money. They want lower taxes. One of the cities of protest I saw today, I can't remember if it was Curitiba or a city in the northeast of the country demanded free public transport. In summary the protests are vast, but in my opinion, thus far they are just.
A Few Strange Details
~The 2006 film V for Vendetta really seemed to strike a chord with Brazilians. Remember the masks in the movie? I saw about 50 of them today on the news being used by protesters all over the country.
~My host father seems to think the the World Cup has been purchased by the Brazilian government. He believes the government purchased the win believing that the euphoric aftermath will temporarily blind Brazilians and the rest of the world from Brazil's corrupt state. Conspiracy? Perhaps. But whether or not my host father's beliefs are true, his thoughts about his government, the thoughts of a stable, kind and intelligent man, say something.
~I've heard a few times that protesters threaten that if steps are not taken by the government to fix previously mentioned issues, they won't allow for the World Cup and Olympics to take place. I am not sure what that means exactly...but even peaceful protests in large masses placed in strategic areas like, lets say the airport, could really "F" up all that international $$ Brazil was looking to take in. Not to mention, São Paulo and Rio are already sketchy places to stick tourists. Throw protester violence on top of that and a lot of people are not going to want to travel here. My personal interest in working at the 2016 Olympics in Rio has already deflated, sadly.
~There is no plan B for the FIFA World Cup location. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/there-is-no-plan-b-fifa-rule-out-taking-2014-world-cup-away-from-brazil-8672459.html
For pictures and a retelling of the story in English:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-24003945
For even more pictures:
https://www.google.com.br/search?q=protesto+brasilia+hoje&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=hfsrUsjpEoOy9gT724CICg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=643
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