Brazil

Brazil Puts Missiles On Apartment Buildings

June 11, 2014 Revolution News, www.revolution-news.com Resist! Brazil, Military, Protest, world cup

Today people of Rio de Janeiro, residing in the area of the Maracanã World Cup stadium, woke up to find out that missiles have been placed on the roofs of their bloc of flats. Not just missiles, but actual military bases have been set up over night on their homes. The Navy of Brazil are “positioning airspace surveillance and air defense equipment” on the terrace of a building with 15 floors and 90 apartments in Tijuca north of Rio, 600 meters from the Maracanã. They want to “defend the anti-aircraft Maracana.” Residents of the building Chateau Grenoble have noticed army soldiers on their roof. Retired economist Almir Gomes Cardoso, 72, says he was shocked to see the marines on the roof. “They (the military) confirmed that they will install a missile on the roof,” said Cardoso, who lives on the top floor. Just like that. Nobody asked him anything: “The landlady did not report anything. It was a fait accompli.” The military say the missiles are meant to defend the “airspace” on an area of 13 to 15 km around the stadium Maracana, as well as around the other 12 stadiums where the games for the cup will take place. But the reality is that from the roofs of the building they will be actually spying on and monitoring protestors on the ground – this is their main concern. A state army of 200,000 uniforms, a third of which are army soldiers, are deployed for FIFA’s most expensive show ever — and the biggest theft from Brazil’s public budgets: -> ”A gigantic theft of public resources would take place. For us that was clear from the beginning. But we had not anticipated that the fraud would be as big as he is now! Beginning it was said that the Copa (World Cup) would make do with a budget of 2 billion U.S. dollars. Now, over 10 billion U.S. dollars spent been! That’s why the people are outraged!

Brazilian Government Tried To Stamp Out Soccer Protests

June 11, 2014 David Goldblatt, www.slate.com Resist! Brazil, Protests, Soccer, world cup

This article is excerpted from Futebol Nation: The Story of Brazil Through Soccer by David Goldblatt, out now from Nation Books. The Confederations Cup began life as a PR exercise for the House of Saud. Having built one of the most opulent but underused stadiums in the world—the King Fahd—the Saudis created the tournament in 1992 to ﬁll up the schedule and play soft-power football politics. The cup pitted their own national side against a selection of leading international teams invited on an all-expenses-paid jaunt. The King Fahd Cup was held again in 1995 and 1997, with the Saudis attempting to invite all the sides that had won their continental competitions (like the European Championships and the Asian Cup). In 2001, the tournament passed into the hands of FIFA, who have since staged it on a four-year basis as a warm-up and dress rehearsal for the World Cup. Korea-Japan 2001, Germany 2005, and South Africa 2009 all passed without comment or much incident. Brazil 2013 was meant to be the same. Through the autumn of 2012 and into early 2013 there were small but visible signs of discontent. The Comitê Popular da Copa e Olimpíadas, which had cut its teeth as the main opposition to the Pan American Games, maintained its regular protests in Rio and other cities over the wastefulness and corruption of the World Cup infrastructure program, attracting 3,000 to 4,000 people to their anti-privatization marches on the Maracanã.

Brazilian Military Deployed Two Days Before World Cup

June 10, 2014 The Real News, www.therealnews.com Resist! Brazil, Military, Protest, world cup

The Brazilian government has launched one of the largest Military operations since the 1950s. Over 200,000 troops have been deployed all over Brazil in preparation for the World Cup. Meanwhile, around Salvador's Fonte Nova stadium, security forces have been tasked with forcibly removing the homeless. As workers continue to intensify their actions, Amnesty International warns the Brazilian government's response to protests and strikes could lead to indiscriminate violence.

São Paulo Unions Threaten General Strike For World Cup

June 9, 2014 Hannah Strange, www.telegraph.co.uk Resist! Brazil, Protest, Strike, Unions, world cup

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Saturday claimed that protests ahead of the World Cup were part of a “systematic campaign” against her government, as São Paulo union leaders threatened a general strike to coincide with the opening of the tournament in the city. São Paulo, which is due to host the opening match on Thursday, has been paralysed by days of strikes and protests by subway workers which have led to clashes with police and deepened fears of chaos for visiting fans. The cost of staging the event - at an estimated $11.5 billion (£6.9 billion) the most expensive World Cup ever - has ignited public anger at economic woes, corruption and poor social provisions. But Ms Rousseff said that criticism of spending amounted to “disinformation”. “Today there is a systematic campaign against the World Cup - or rather, it is not against the World Cup but rather a systematic campaign against us,” she said, without revealing who she believed to be behind it. Police fired tear gas and beat back protesters at one São Paulo subway station on Friday night, leading Altino de Melo Prazeres Júnior, the head of the Union of São Paulo Subway Workers, to insist members would not be deterred and instead would reinforce their presence at key interchanges in the city.

Protests Dampen World Cup Fever In Brazil

June 9, 2014 Mario Osava, www.ipsnews.net Resist! Brazil, Poverty, Protest, world cup

It seemed like “a good deal” at the time, but then things changed. That description of the 2006 purchase of a U.S. refinery, one of the oil industry scandals hanging over the Brazilian government’s head, could also apply to attitudes towards the FIFA World Cup. In 2007, the fact that Brazil was chosen to host the 2014 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) global championship triggered a sense of national euphoria. The mega sporting event would crown the economic ascent of this emerging power, which has won the most World Cups – five out of 18. But now, instead of planning welcome parties for the Jun. 12-Jul. 13 tournament, Brazilians are taking to the streets in protests that are blocking traffic and bringing cities to a halt, holding strikes to demand wage hikes, and complaining about corruption and rights violations during the public works to prepare for the global event. The country of football and joy is turning its back on its stereotype. In Rio de Janeiro, the few streets decorated in green and yellow – the colours of the national team – contrast with the celebrations and sense of anticipation ahead of previous World Cups. The enthusiasm has been dampened just when Brazil is hosting the world’s biggest single-sport event.

Brazil Readies ‘RoboCop’ Riot Squads For World Cup

June 6, 2014 Jon Queally, www.commondreams.org Resist! Brazil, Police, Protest, world cup

As Brazilians opposed to outrageous sums of public money spent on preparations for the upcoming World Cup protest with marches and strikes, the nation's government and its police forces are boasting that they have planned for all contingencies ahead of the games, including plans to clamp down on dissent and disruption by establishing "security zones" and deploying armies of riot police in uniforms described as something out of a sci-fi movie. In San Paulo on Wednesday, an estimated ten thousand people marched on the Arena Corinthians Stadium, where the international soccer tournament will begin next week, as they called for better treatment for the city's homeless people as well as increased funding for public transportation, health services, and low-income housing. Anti-World Cup demonstrators take part in the so-called "World Cup without the people, I'm in the street again" protest in Sao Paulo, Brazil on June 4, 2014. (AFP Photo/Nelson Almeida)Watch: In addition, as of Thursday, the union of metro workers in San Paulo announced it was going on strike to protest low wages. A famously congested city to begin with, a worker's strike during the World Cup—as international tourists pour in—would wreak havoc. And last week in the capital city of Brasilia, indigenous protesters clashed with riot police on horseback as they voiced their anger at the dissonance between money spent on the games and the lack of resources available to the nation's consistently neglected and disregarded populations.

Brazil’s Poor Stage An Alternative World Cup

June 4, 2014 Elizabeth Gorman, www.aljazeera.com Resist! Brazil, Inequality, world cup

Days before the 2014 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Sao Paulo, another championship is set to take place in Rio de Janeiro's historic Port region. The players aren't world-famous. Rather, they're men and women of all ages from Rio's many favelas, poor communities that surround the city. La Copa Popular, or the People's Cup, is hosted by the activist group People's Committee of the World Cup and Olympics and is in its second year. The qualifying tournament for this year's Copa Popular finals took place at the top of the Morro do Salgueiro favela in northern Rio, and the finals will be held on June 8. A football field crowns the steep, winding hill at the top of the favela, covered in endless layers of housing. Dozens of young football players, local onlookers and members of the media gathered to watch eight teams battle it out.

World Cup: Private Security ‘Made in the USA’

June 2, 2014 Santiago Navarro, www.cipamericas.org Educate! Brazil, Wars and Militarism, world cup

As the World Cup nears, the Brazilian press has reported that the American company Academi, formerly Blackwater, carried out training of Brazilian military personnel and federal police in April. The training is a facet of the military cooperation agreement between Brazil and the United States signed in 2010 during the second term of the Lula de Silva administration in preparation for containing terrorist acts during this year’s World Cup. Academi is a private security company based in the United States, and has used mercenary soldiers in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. When the agreement was signed, the Brazilian government maintained that the accord would permit the “strengthening of dialogue and opening of new cooperation prospects on a balanced and mutually beneficial basis.” According to the Brazilian government, it was attempting to “perfect already existing and future cooperation in areas such as high-level delegation visits, technical contacts, institutional meetings, student exchanges, training of personnel, visits by ocean vessels, and sporting and cultural events.” The minister of defense at the time, Nelson Jobim, declared the agreement “very general” and a sort of “giant umbrella” beneath which “many possibilities will open in terms of future negotiations”, but did not give details in terms of what those negotiations would be or what they would mean.

Indigenous World Cup Protestors Tear-Gassed

May 29, 2014 Marianna Olinger, www.ninja.oximity.com Resist! Brazil, Indigenous Rights, Protest, world cup

Brazil's capital Brasilia had a 'warm up' session of what can happen during FIFA World Cup games in the city this wednesday. According to the 'Lei Geral da Copa' (the special legislation passed by Brazilian congress to comply with FIFA requirements during the event), the "enemies of order" - technically any citizen who live up to their right to protest and express their opinions - are prohibited to approach places pre-determined by FIFA, life stadiums and FIFA Fun Fest gatherings. Today around 3000 protesters were repressed with violence by the Brazilian State, acting to protect the FIFA standards in the preparation for the tournament. People in the surroundings described this wednesday's event as a "spectacle of bombs and military hostility". The act "Copa pra quem?" (World Cup for whom?), organized by World Cup Popular Committee, the Homeless Workers' Movement, and the Indigenous Population Organization (APIB) took over the main bus terminal in Brasilia during the rush hour. The movement promoted a staged trial where FIFA, the Brazilian Government and World Cup sponsors were judged by crimes committed in their quest for guaranteeing FIFA World Cup standards. The staged trial attracted hundreds of passengers and people on their way to work, in addition to indigenous groups from over 100 different ethnic groups from all over the country. Indigenous groups are in vigil in the Capital fighting against the advancement of agribusiness over indigenous land.

Protests Threaten To Paralyse Brazil Ahead Of World Cup

May 28, 2014 Fabiola Ortiz, www.ipsnews.net Resist! Brazil, Protest, world cup

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 26 2014 (IPS) - As the FIFA World Cup approaches, the streets of Brazil are heating up with strikes and demonstrations, and there are worries that the social unrest could escalate into a wave of protests similar to the ones that shook the country in June 2013. Groups of public and private sector workers have been on strike for days, creating a hectic backdrop for the Jun. 12-Jul. 13 global football championship. In the southern city of São Paulo a strike by bus drivers last week generated the worst traffic jams in the history of the city. And on May 21, some 8,000 police marched to the esplanade of ministries in the capital Brasilia, in a protest supported by the federal and military police forces. In the 12 cities that will host the World Cup matches, at least 15 protests are scheduled for the event’s opening day. Trade unions are taking advantage of the spotlight on Brazil to pressure the centre-left government of Dilma Rousseff to meet their demands. Even workers in over a dozen Brazilian consulates in the United States and Europe, responsible for issuing visas to those interested in flying to Brazil for the sporting event, went on strike last week.

20k People Protest World Cup In São Paulo

May 26, 2014 Sherman, www.revolution-news.com Resist! Brazil, Protest, world cup

Around 20,000 people marched today in Sao Paulo in an action organized by the Homeless Workers Movement (MTST) called “Cup Without People, I’m In the Streets Again.” Many different groups joined them, and made it clear that people are upset at the billions of dollars given to FIFA, construction companies, and the real estate market, while the people of Brazil are left with no homes or hospitals. “Imagine how many houses you could build with the money for that bridge?” shouted William Boulos of MTST, from the top of a car, which occupies the sound cable-stayed bridge. Demonstrators showed up in these large numbers despite heavy rainfall, and also despite potential conflicts with fans of a local football team, the Corinthians. Apparently, the organizers spoke to each other and found common ground, avoiding any possible issues. In fact, the entire event had no issues, largely because the police did not provoke the crowds.

Brazil Using Terrorism Law To Stifle Ahead Of World Cup Protests

May 14, 2014 Amnesty International UK, www.amnesty.org.uk Resist! Brazil, Protests, world cup

One month ahead of the start of the World Cup, Amnesty International has warned of a crackdown on freedom of expression as Brazil moves to pass a ‘terrorism’ law that could criminalise peaceful protest before the tournament starts there in June. The new law, which is due to be voted on in the Brazilian Senate any day now, would see the creation of the crime of ‘disorder’ in order to control protests. The proposal only offers a vague definition of ‘disorder’ and contains articles that could lead to the criminalisation of any citizen attending a public demonstration, even if they are not doing anything illegal. It also prohibits the use of masks during or immediately after the public demonstrations, protests or assemblies. The legislation would also create the crime of ‘terrorism’ - Amnesty is concerned that the way terrorism is defined is again overly vague and therefore may be used to unlawfully restrict human rights. The proposed legislation appears to be a reaction to widespread protests in Brazil during the Confederations Cup last year, many more of which are expected as the World Cup gets closer. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to vent their anger about World Cup spending, an increase in public transport fares and the lack of investment in public services.

International Day Of Resistance Against 2014 World Cup

May 13, 2014 15M, www.comitepopularsp.wordpress.com Resist! Brazil, Protest, world cup

What will be the legacy of the 2014 soccer world cup? 9 deaths during the renovation of/in the soccer arenas of the world cup. 250,000 people forcefully removed from their homes. Street vendors and independent artists who are forbidden to work. Women, children, and adolescents who suffer from sexual exploitation. Homeless people who suffer violence and "hygienisation" (are expelled from the downtown area); Private corporations taking care of public space and streets. Elitisation of the soccer stadiums. Billions invested in armament of the police to use against the people. Laws declaring state of emergency and criminalising demonstrations. An immense and questionable public debt the people will have to pay. For this legacy, we hold responsible the corporations sponsoring the FIFA world cup, the construction companies, the mafias FIFA and CBF (Brazilian soccer federation), the municipal, state, and federal governments, as well as the legislative an judicial branches!

Why Is Blackwater Helping To Train Brazil’s World Cup Security?

April 26, 2014 Jules Boykoff and Dave Zirin, www.thenation.com Educate! Blackwater, Brazil, world cup

In news as shocking as it was unreported in the United States, the Brazilian press revealed earlier this week that Academi—the rebranded private militia once known as Blackwater—has been providing security training for the 2014 World Cup. The notorious company, responsible for the 2011 Nisour Square massacre in Iraq, has been training Brazilian security forces in North Carolina. Hosting mega-events comes with astronomical costs. This summer’s World Cup in Brazil is the most expensive ever, with a tab so far of $11 billion to $13 billion. These costs promise to catapult even higher as unfinished projects linger long after the soccer fans have returned home, with some estimating the final price tag to crest at $15 billion. In addition to being the most expensive, the World Cup organizers plan to deploy more force than any previous tournament. More than 170,000 security personnel from the military, police and secret service will be on hand, 22 percent more than worked the previous World Cup in South Africa. Now we know that some of these forces will be trained by a private security firm with a dodgy history.

Brazil’s ‘Internet Bill Of Rights’ A Victory For Web Freedom

April 24, 2014 Lauren McCauley, www.commondreams.org Educate! Brazil, Internet Freedom

A landmark law that guarantees equal access to the nation's internet and protects the privacy of users was signed by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday, in a move that is being hailed as a historic step for online freedom worldwide. The "Civil Law Marco Internet"—dubbed the Internet Bill of Rights by its supporters—was passed unanimously by Brazil's Senate on Tuesday. Rousseff signed the bill at the launch of the two-day NETmundial conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil. “Internet and freedom are wired together forever," said Michael Freitas Mohallem, Campaign Director at Avaaz, an international organization that collected more than 350,00 signatures in Brazil calling for net neutrality legislation. "Marco Civil is a bill created, championed, and today delivered into law by the people," Freitas Mohallem continued. "This is a truly historical day for people power, with Brazil now leading the world in keeping the net neutral." Sir Tim Berners-Lee, considered the 'Father of the Internet,' hailed the law as "a gift to the web on its 25th birthday."

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