BRAZIL 2014 WORLD CUP. MAYBE.

While billions of people around the world are counting down the days for the world cup with excitement, people from all classes of Brazil have nothing but anger towards the hosting of the FIFA World Cup. So much so that they have organized a movement now recognized as “Não Vai Ter Copa. ” (No to the World Cup)

The first recognized protest was on June 6th of 2013 with hundreds of protests to follow. With what at first started as a protest against the aweful public transportation offered, later grew into much more.

According to, “The Streets Erupt,” by The Economist H.J,
A minimum wage worker in Sao Paulo will spend up to one fifth of their income in transportation, something that a formal employer is legally obligated to pay.

As though the raise in public transportation was not enough, the brazilian administration lead by Dilma Rousseff went on to raise food, living accommodations, as well as taxes.

Taxes went up to 36% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) now recognized as one of the highest in developing world that does not lead to community benefits. (The Economist H.J.)

According to the 2010 Census Brazil has a  population of about 200 billion people in which 6% of them, about 11.4 million brazilians live in the Favelas.

Favelas is a direct translation of self built. The Favelas are largely recognized around the world as mountains of what could be described as brick houses, located in the largest cities in Brazil such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. While 6% of Brazilians live in Favelas, 21% of the population is below the poverty line.

Of these areas about 170 thousand people were threatened of or have already been removed from their homes. In many of these cases the evictions were violent and in others the notice was dismissed.  The Favela community of Morro da Providencia  for example realized they were being thrown out by marks that were painted on their homes the night before.

The brazilian government appears to have such little concern in the well being of their lower income communities that they simply throw them out with little to no notice. Some areas where advised as to where they could go however these suggestions lead to up to a 30 minute drive, causing an additional change to school transportation for children as well as a change in public transportation for the working class.

It is these people that the World Cup is affecting most drastically. While Brazil is recognized to have lifted about 43% of the D class to C class (scale from A-D)  from years 2009-2011, these families are merely one check away from going back to “class D”, for some the raise in living expenses because of the World Cup has already done this for them.

The principle demands the people of Brazil are requesting in the many peaceful protests that have been dismantled by violent outrages from the police are improvement in hospital care, schools, security and after what they have witnessed in the past year due to their protests they have added an end to police abuse.

The Brazilian administration has done little to better the hospital care and education in the Favelas due to “lack of funds.” However by July of 2013 Brazil’s administration somehow managed to pay R$7 billion in building only half of the stadiums needed, meaning that more money will be put into building the other half of the stadiums needed for the World Cup. These R$7 billion are already three times the total amount spent in the South Africa World Cup 4 years earlier.

On June of 2013 Rivaldo Ferreira, a member of the 2002 Brazilian team that took the world cup tweeted, “It’s shameful to spend so much money for this World Cup and leave the hospitals and schools in such a precarious state. At this moment we aren’t in shape to host the World Cup, we don’t need it; we need education and health.”

While the Brazilian constitution guarantees the right to free, state-provided health care about two-fifths of the Brazilian community is not covered by local primary care.  According to Rio On Watch, the health program PSF (Programa Saude De Familia) was created in 1994 with the goal to serve as the entry point for all health concerns. Nonetheless in 2010 about 15% of Brazils districts had still not implemented PSF, as well as the audacity of it only covering 27.3% of the Rio De Janeiro population by 2011.

“Of the 6,384 hospitals in Brazil, 69.1% are private and only 35.4% of the hospital beds are within the public sector.” (Rio On Watch) The obvious health inequalities in Brazil are transparent through the high number of incidence of socially sensative health issues.

These health issues are reflected on how the poor and less educated groups have a higher chance of decease or sickness. If 35.4% of the hospitals are within the public sector how many low income community members have died from malpractice, or lack of appropriate equipment in hospitals?

While the world relates to the fight for better hospital care, proper education is also among those world wide fights

“Over the past decade, Brazil’s students have scored among the lowest of any country’s students taking international exams for basic skills like reading, mathematics and science.” (Educational Gaps Limit Brazil’s Reach, NY Times.)

While President Rousseff has made changes to the quality of public education, the changes seem to have been put on pause once the billions of reais were invested in the reconstruction and construction of the 12 stadiums needed for the World Cup.

According to Inforsur Hoy, Brazil’s government only invests 1.1% of the GDP in the research and development of education, while the percent recommended by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) is 2.5%.

 Public schools often lack plumbing and heating, they are more than  inadequate for teaching conditions. The structure and organization of the public sector is neglected leading to a lack of interest. 

“For the lowest level of income, there’s surely a positive affect of income on the education improvement of future generations,” says economist Flavio Comim a professor at the Federal University of Rio Grade do Sul (UFRGS)

Many of the children that need to attend public primary schools do not have the option to attend, not only because of the lack professionalism conducted in the public sector but also because of the lack of time there parents have. A majority of the children that should be attending the public sector schools have been put to work therefore leading to effecting the education improvement in Brazil.

This World Cup has cost Brazil billions of reais that most of its population was unaware the government had. The government has recognized the demands and say they are aiming to fulfill them, and they have declared that this World Cup will not worsen but better the life style seen in Brazil. None the less the questions remains, when will these promises be fulfilled, when will the lower and middle class see change in their community, when will the percent of illiteracy change, when will the obvious health inequalities in Brazil end.

This World Cup has squeezed Brazil of whatever funds it may have had to better the public transpiration, the hospitals, and the schools, it has only made the communities angry, angry enough to organize and fight peacefully for what they deserve as humans. Não Vai Ter Copa has become a fight for their human rights.

https://isaura8agarza.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/nao-vai-ter-copa/