Protests mark Brazil’s big week
STRIKES and protests cascaded through Brazil this week, just a week before the opening game of the 2014 Soccer World Cup.
Underground transport workers in Sao Paulo, where the first game will take place, announced an open-ended strike likely to hit World Cup preparations. The strike in Brazil’s business hub of 20 million people could strand 4.5 million passengers and unleash commuter chaos.
The latest protests came after Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff defended her government’s preparations for the tournament, saying Fifa bore part of the blame for the spiralling public bill.
The leftist leader, who plans to seek re-election in October, said Fifa had assured Brazil that host stadiums would be built with private money. But the government eventually realised that private sector investment would not cover even “half a stadium” and so it had to provide most of the financing itself, said Rousseff.
But she insisted that the vast majority of public spending related to the tournament was “for Brazil” over the long term and not limited to the World Cup.
This is unlikely to stem the anger over the bill, estimated at more than $11-billion (R124-billion).
Calling for higher pensions, about 400 retired military police and their relatives earlier rallied outside Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena, the stadium that will host the World Cup opening match on Thursday.
Another 4 000 protesters rallied by the Homeless Workers’ Movement, a mainstay of the anti-World Cup protests that have gripped the country over the past year, were marching towards the same area.
A year ago, a million protesters flooded the streets during the Confederations Cup, a World Cup dress rehearsal. The protests turned violent at times, raising fears of a repeat this year. — AFP