http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/18/w...azils-largest-cities.html?smid=fb-share&_r=1& http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-988431 Since this is a soccer board I'm sure most who click here will have heard about protests surrounding the Confed Cup. But it's much bigger than that, the ireport link above paints an accurate picture of all the stuff that has been adding up and finally set people off. (I'm not sure what parts CNN couldn't confirm, all it would take is someone who can read Portuguese.) So, outside of ESPN or whoever you're watching the Confed Cup on, has anyone seen coverage of these protests?
Only in the context of the soccer tournament. There's very little about it otherwise. And that is true even in the Argentine media, which I follow.
I found this commentary on Espn from a Brazilian journalist. Still within the context of soccer, but it touches on the larger issues and I thought it was an insightful take on what's going on. http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=futebolbrasil&id=139
I've been planning on attending Brazil 2014, and now the country has erupted over the lack of attention and resources allocated to pressing domestic needs in the face of extensive and expensive preparations for the World Cup. The trigger was a proposed public transportation fare increase, the platform has been the launch of the Confed Cup and the results have been incredible. BBC "We don't have good schools for our kids. Our hospitals are in awful shape. Corruption is rife. These protests will make history and wake our politicians up to the fact we're not taking it anymore," she said. "We need better education, hospitals and security, not billions spent on the World Cup," said one mother who attended the Sao Paulo march with her daughter. msnbc KATU Gallery What's a socially conscious fanatic to do?
Slightly self-aggrandizing and overly emphasizing editing and music, but still very real and evocative.
Well no shit, Brasil. Most of these large sports gatherings are money losers. It's about the national pride! And perhaps the opportunity to raze some favelas with no one really caring. PROGRESO! You have to go. Besides a WC, the unbelievable amount of Brazilian & traveling tail is worth the price of admission. I read somewhere that even in the touristy areas English isn't spoken widely. So bone up on your portugese, Crimen.
Well, that's one more event that'll soon be reserved for the rich nations. If these people can't muster enough pride in their five-time champion national team to put their personal gripes aside, maybe Brazil ought not host. I went to school with this White dude who now lives in a converted bus that stays parked in the physical plant of the cemetery he digs graves for. He owns nothing, saves nothing, but he gives the Crimson Tide athletic program a few dollars out of every check.
Seriously? As much as you talk about injustice here, I'd expect a bit of understanding about the gripes. They have serious issues that deal with schools, poverty, drugs, murders (related to drugs), and street kids. But they would rather bit to host the WC and (mis)spend the money to build stadiums. South Africa has some serious issues, but they were, for the most part, above board. Hell, maybe some of these protests will result in some of the profits going to programs for what I named above. But none of that will keep me from attending the WC.
Yeah. I didn't think they should have been bidding anyhow. They've already hosted and lost once. The other two major traditional players have won at home (1934, 1974). In fact, every winner but Brasil and Spain have won at home, and Spain is new to the club so they get a pass. Brasil won't win this one, either, and that'll be a football statistic that other nations don't really have to live with. I understand them completely- I'm a bit put off that they waited until now to organize in numbers that demanded media attention. Should have been done the minute the intention to bid was announced, and if they didn't announce it, then immediately after. Enough noise might have made FIFA think twice. It may keep me from attending.
That's a bit pious. They are protesting for their rights, against corruption, and you're criticizing them for when they protested? You know this thing in Turkey started because of 3 or 4 guys who wanted to save the park. It was not an anti-government protest. But it was a trigger. Just like the reports that came out about the misspending on the stadiums.
It's not piety. It's understanding that protestors are basically hoping the CBF turns this whole thing around and gives up (after spending so much money already) when the possibility exists that it might not have ever reached this point.
Chairman's Club > $100,000 Director's Club > $50,000 Gravedigger's Club...just give us your spare change, Bubba I love the South!
The bid included promises of private funds for stadiums. As naive as it might be to expect actual spending not to go past the predicted budget, your notion is pretty laughable. This is not about the World Cup, that's a tiny blip on the screen that happens to be the only one (along with the Olympics) that registers on the international radar. I opened a thread in the International Politics sub-forum. World Cup spending = predictable. Not using private funds and seeing every penny of overspending come from public coffers in a country which already sees incredible amounts of funds diverted into politician's pockets = more than your average World Cup problem. But those are just symptoms of the disease that protesters are trying to tackle. More important issues? An 80 person strong evangelical caucus that paints itself as the persecuted ones (sound familiar?) while earning a spot at the head of the Human Rights committee in congress for a racist and homophobic pastor. Even mor important? An overall congress that is about to pass measures that will reduce the District Attorney's office's power to investogate congresspersons and another measure that will subject all supreme court decisions to congressional review. The "it's more than 20c" or "it's not just about 20c" slogan you may have heard could just as well be "it's about more than just the World Cup".
I have not read that a large number of people want the CBF to give up the World Cup. What I have read is that most are pissed at the unfair pricing/costs and corruption and that the money is not going to programs that need them. Further, your indication is that they are wrong to have been so opportunistic. Every protest is opportunistic. So what? They are protesting in large numbers. They are bringing shame to Brazil and how (badly) the organization for preparation has been. That might be how change occurs.
The protesters aren't hoping to stop the World Cup. That's not what they're doing at all. They're trying to use the national media attention (because of the on going confed cup) to pressure their politicians to change. It's not that Brazilians don't want the World Cup. They do, very much, but they were told that 90% of the event would be financed privately. Instead, $30 billion in public money was used to prop up FIFA and a bunch of billionaires. Meanwhile, Brazil has a health system that's about on par with Sudan and Haiti, despite having a decent enough GDP per capita. Hopefully the protests scare these assholes into handing over some of the profits to the public to at least partially offset the cost of constructing these stadiums.
So the rich get richer and the poor get the picture. Check. Got it Brasilian "Occupy Confederations Cup" protesters.
A society really does get the government they deserve. We wouldn't have revolutions if not. Secondly, it's not like corruption in a Latin American society is a hot of the presses issue. Or crime. Or sub standard hospitals and the like. It's a nation of 170 million people down there so one could rightly think that there are going to be marginalized citizens down there. Folks that are feed up with how life is for them. Again, check, got it! But if it was that grave, and not saying it is not, get off your collective asses and do something like protest in the street years ago when you and your friends knew there was a real problem in your nation. Waiting for the Confederations Cup and next Summer at the World Cup is going for it bleeds it leads coverage from the global eye as we watch these tournaments. I would like to think there are millions of fellow Brasilians down there that sympathize with their compatriots but are working poor type dudes that just want to have their nation for just one month put on a good show for the world. They probably have authentic gripes as well but are too busy working as a bricklayer for 70 hours a week to go down to the stadium and block entrances all afternoon and into the night.
My question concerns the "timing is poor" argument. While waiting for this point in time may seem rather futile to some, was it a way to guarantee safety for the protesters? I do not know much about the situation other than a recent PBS thing I watched and it sounded like our (USA) federal contracting procedures were followed, i.e. bribes and payola. contracts awarde on the best hookers and biggest briefcaes with USD's in them. Would there have been as good a chance of getting international mainstream media attention if they had protested at a different time? what would the risk of personal harm have been if they had not protested on such a highly visible stage? I am really suprised by @Auriaprottus reaction to this as he so often advocates for sufferers of injustice. I admire them and their mentality of
Here's an analogous protest 10 days before the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City that resulted in 44 or more deaths http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tlatelolco_massacre There are obvious differences Brazil's economy now > Mexico's then, not to mention globalized media now...
Blatter Calls on Brazilians to Stop Using Football to Make Their Demands http://www.insideworldfootball.com/...-to-stop-using-football-to-make-their-demands More like the legacy of the winner's curse. I wonder if Blatter knows or if he just doesn't care that several of South Africa's host cities are on the verge of bankruptcy due to the cost of building and maintaining new stadia. Ask Quebec how many years it took to pay off their debt from the 1976 Olympics Games. Why are cities like Athens and Sydney are still struggling under the burden of maintaining empty venues that are rarely used? Brazilians have every right to use the Confederations Cup as a platform to protest their government's deal with FIFA, especially if it increases the chances of digging many of the host cities and the country deeper into debt.
I'm sure it wont happen but it's still interesting none the less http://www.express.co.uk/sport/foot...may-be-moved-from-Brazil-to-the-United-States
To both these posts, the timing isn't random. The realization that all these profits from the World Cup aren't going to find their way back to the taxpayers who funded the stadium construct...that's new. You can call them naive or optimistic for assuming otherwise, but the fact of the matter is that the general population is just now realizing that they go screwed over. That's one of the reasons these protests are happening now. And you can't say Americans aren't slow to react. These NSA "wiretapping" and internet spying programs have been going on since 2004/2005. It took almost 10 years for this stuff to really strike a chord with the general public, despite the fact that 75% of this crap was technically known all along. The Brazilian public has just now realized they've been robbed. Before, they were told profits from the Cup would cover costs. Now, with the realization that there will be no potential benefit from these tournaments, they have nothing to loose.