The World Cup of football, organized by FIFA (La Fédération Internationale de Football Association), will kick off in Brazil today June 12th. Brazil is known for being a football-loving country but protests across the country lately have shown that it is far from the everybody in Brazil who are happy that the world biggest football tournament will take place in their country.
Picture courtesy of Ben Tavener, Flickr.
Lots of promises have been made to the population of Brazil. Hosting a large event like the World Cup is expensive and obviously, in order to convince people that it will have a positive outcome, commitments such as an improvement of the infrastructure, modern airports and improved hospitals were made by the government, but they haven’t been completed yet. Sidharta from Saõ Paulo, Brazil, says to The AEGEEan: “I am not happy about it, which is a feeling shared by many Brazilians, and most of my friends. We are unhappy about the amount of money spent, when we have too many problems regarding education, the public health system, security etc… Also, there is a feeling that too much money has been diverged by corruptive politicians and people who are part of the organization of the Cup in the Brazilian side. Another important issue is that years ago, when our government committed to host the Cup, a lot was said about the legacy of the Cup. But now, we feel betrayed, since the so called legacy wasn’t fulfilled. Important promises, like the modernization of the airports, the high-speed train and accessibility improvements were never made. Also, since one year ago, when the protests began, the government have responded with too much violence. I think the more important benefit of the Cup was to open our eyes for the way our politicians have been conducting our country for years. I am just worried that once the ball starts to roll over the green field, the Brazilians forget that bitter reality and close the eyes and ears again.”
An example of this is the city of Natal where teams like Mexico, Cameroon, Ghana, Japan, Italy, Uruguay, Greece and USA will play and stay. At this beach destination the agreement was to build a light rail work, a new hospital, a beach front face-lift, and wheelchair-friendly sidewalks. After five years of preparation for the World Cup only little besides the arena and an untested airport were built.
The signature project for the World Cup was a $16bn high-speed rail service linking Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo but that is another thing that can be added to the list of infrastructures not completed. The President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff argues that it takes time to build the urban transportation system and completing large engineering projects.
Still, lots of money has been spend on the hosting of the event. Money that, as Sidharta mentioned, the Brazilians would prefer to see getting invested in the health and education system, sanitation, a better transportation system and much more security. Even the Brazilian football hero Pelé, by many claimed to be the greatest footballer of all time, has been critiquing publically the excessive spending of money that should be spent on schools and hospitals and not on building stadiums across the country. However, Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio, says it is private money that largely has been used for the financation of the venues and that the public money is being spend on legacy such as transportation, sewage and bus corridors that connect the venues with the isolated areas of Rio.
Picture courtesy of Ben Tavener, Flickr.
A survey by Pew Global shows that the dissatisfaction with the government’s direction has grown from 55 to 72 % in just one year. About six out of ten people believe that the World Cup has a negative effect, taking money away from public services, while others believe it gives the country a negative image especially due to all the unrest and protests taking place in the country since the Confederation Cup held last year.
As recent as one week ago the activists of the Homeless Workers Movement marched the streets demanding the government to invest in matters such as subsidized transportation, education and the health system. That protest went by peacefully but several of the protests have been receiving critique of the violence surrounding and especially the reaction by the security and police forces.
Ozgun Kaplama the Speaker of the Sports Working Group of AEGEE (SWG) says to The AEGEEan: “It’s the second time the World Cup happens in Brazil but this one will be interesting. As international society we all know Brazil for their football players, coffee and samba but I think examples like Arab Spring, Turkey and Ukraine give a trust to citizens who are uncomfortable about the problems. They want to show other sides of the country. There are too many protest related to the competition, and people are against the expenses especially. Some stadium constructions are not ready yet. Protesters are more interested in social support than the World Cup. Also last year at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil there were some protests, and police used violence. Some fans who will go there as tourist are afraid about their security. We, the Sports Working Group are watching these actions closely, because it is related with our missions. But on the other hand we’ll watch the World Cup because we care about the sport for our ideals. Also there are some discussions about World Cup 2022 in Qatar. It will be the first time the competition will be held in the Middle East, so that is quite interesting too!”
Sabina Begic who is the PR responsible of the SWG has been following the World Cup since her childhood and at one side believes that it is great for Brazil to show one more time how it is the land of football, how its national history is linked to football and to be the best host of the World Cup ever. As she has a few professional sportsmen in her close family, she received a sponsored opportunity to follow the World Cup in Brazil but she declined and she explains why: “After I survived four years of war for me security is the most important issue, and the security situation is unstable in Brazil considering the eco-political situation. Also, as much as I love football my full support and understanding is on the side of the Brazilians who are protesting and are angry over the expense of the World Cup.”
Picture courtesy of Thomás , Flickr.
However, it is not all negative. The Pew Global survey also shows that 34 % believe that hosting the World Cup is positive for Brazil and that it will create jobs in the twelve host cities. Also another poll as of June 2nd shows that 51 % are in favor of the tournament and 42 % against.
Ieda from São Paulo, Brazil, says to The AEGEEan: “I think we all are one way or another looking forward to see it finally starting… Some will be relieved, some angry, and some like me will be just thrilled! I love to see all this energy from people coming and joining the party, but I know it’s not everyone’s feelings. There are a few Brazilians who are rooting against the world cup, as if it would solve all of our problems, and they insist on causing all kinds of political, economic problems, either by strikes or by spreading fake news and/or misinforming the population… But if our national team wins it, it will be just that: a victory. We’ll be all happy, we will celebrate and after a few days of partying and carnival, things will be the same again. So why not enjoy the moment?”
Picture courtesy of Jorge in Brazil, Flickr.
It is clear that something needs to be done. The country is filled with violent protests, dissatisfaction and the World Cup is only few days away. Furthermore, Rio de Janiero is the host city of the Olympic Games in two years from now in 2016 and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have also been loud with their critique, questioning the country’s ability to organize two large events at the same time. The Olympic Vice President John Coates said in April that the preparations for the world biggest sport event have so far been the worst he has ever seen, leading the IOC to increase the amount of visits and placement of experts in the local organizing committee.
With both events it is important to ensure the legacy for Brazil and to solve the issue of the violent protests. Miguel Gallardo from the Comité Directeur says to The AEGEEan: “I think a World Cup in Brazil assures a great deal of spectacle, with a public which will vibrate with each match. I just feel they missed the opportunity to create the necessary structures so the event has a sustainable impact for the whole society. More and more news arrives about corruption, lack of labour rights and abuses, and the country seems to have adopted a critical attitude towards the world cup. Being Brazil, that’s a sign that something did not work. I hope they at least learned the lesson for the Olympics”.
There will always be pros and cons and many questions to ask oneself regarding the matter of politics and sports. Sport and especially football enthusiast Armenak Minasyants, who is the Policy Officer for European Neighbourhood Police in AEGEE, says to The AEGEEan: “It is a quite complicated situation to deal with, but it also hugely depends from the angle you approach the situation. Yes, in Brazil there is a huge number of unemployment, quite high level of organized crime and corruption, and the people are lawfully protesting and asking for the better life conditions. But does the WC2014 (not counting financial aspects) really have much to do with the internal Brazilian problems and non-well state administration and governance? Hasn’t such dynamically developing country as Brazil deserved the right to host the WC2014 for the first time since 1950? If we observe the situation from a dramatic political point, I would be the first person to demand cancelling the WC2018 and WC2022 in Russia and Qatar respectively, due to numerous violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in these countries. But is it really in benefit of sport and the millions of people following it? It’s my conviction that sport may really unite the people, the nations and politicians for creating better conditions of life for everyone.”
Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Zaragoza
Featured Picture courtesy of Upeters, Flikr