Never before has the World Cup incited these feelings of hatred among Brazilians,’ said Ugo Giorgetti, a prominent Brazilian film-maker and football fan. He seems to speak for many, judging by huge street protests that accompanied last year’s Confederations Cup - demonstrations initially provoked by a hike in bus fares.
Romário, star of Brazil’s 1994 World Cup-winning team and now a socialist politician in the Chambers of Deputies, the lower house in Congress, calls the tournament ‘the biggest heist in the history of Brazil’.
It is not just the delays, the cost and the futility of the stadia that is so abhorrent this time.
As with previous unrest in the country, many of those who showed up to Friday's events covered their faces with masks and wore dark clothing, holding signs with slogans such as “We want schools, subways, trains, buses, and standard hospitals FIFA.” A large group of teachers was said to have taken part in Friday’s mobilization.
The Latin American country has seen its share of riled demonstrators in the run-up to the World Cup. Protestors have come to link the exorbitant sums spent in preparation for the football tournament as a symptom of government corruption and ineptitude.
Many Brazilians feel that funds which have gone towards World Cup preparations should have been invested into transportation infrastructure and government services, chiefly education and healthcare. Likewise, protesters have often specifically attacked FIFA, the international football federation, and even the group’s leadership and football players for what they say is the organization’s complicity with the country’s government.
Beyond the demonstrations, preparations for the world sporting event have run into a number of setbacks.
The Latin American country has seen its share of riled demonstrators in the run-up to the World Cup. Protestors have come to link the exorbitant sums spent in preparation for the football tournament as a symptom of government corruption and ineptitude.
Many Brazilians feel that funds which have gone towards World Cup preparations should have been invested into transportation infrastructure and government services, chiefly education and healthcare. Likewise, protesters have often specifically attacked FIFA, the international football federation, and even the group’s leadership and football players for what they say is the organization’s complicity with the country’s government.
Beyond the demonstrations, preparations for the world sporting event have run into a number of setbacks.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke expressed concern on Thursday regarding the state of three of the twelve massive stadiums that have been built or refurbished for the event, capping off a two-week trip by warning organizers in Natal, Porto Alegre, and Sao Paulo - which will host the first match in two weeks - that it is now a “race against the clock.”
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