Brazilians are fed up with football and the government

A peaceful protest against hosting the expensive World Cup in Brazil on Tuesday, June 18, escalated into clashes between demonstrators and police. Brazilians, fed up with the country's ruling elite, have reacted in this way to endless budget spending and transport prices, which were significantly increased by government decree earlier this month.

Brazil is considered one of the most “football” countries in the world - the strongest team, millions of fans and football fans throughout the country. However, despite this, the Brazilians came out to protest precisely against football, or rather, the inflated costs that go towards hosting a prestigious international event. The championship will cost the country $15 billion. Moreover, in 2016 the Summer Olympics will be held in Rio. Instead of solving numerous transport problems, building schools and hospitals, the government invested significant sums in the construction of stadiums, writes the NY Times . This is what caused the anger of the townspeople.

Small demonstrations related to the fare increase began on Thursday, June 13. Already on Saturday, June 15, demonstrators entered the stadium in Rio, where the opening ceremony of the Confederations Cup, a tournament held in the country hosting the World Cup, was taking place a year before it began. Then the police pushed them out of the stadium. Within a few days, the ranks of the dissatisfied grew significantly. And already on Monday, June 17, approximately 100 thousand people, mostly young people, took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro with a peaceful demonstration. The rally participants chanted chants, for example, “People woke up!” and “Get out, get out, get outside!” As a sign of solidarity, office workers threw confetti cut from white paper out of the windows. Protesters held rallies in several major Brazilian cities, including the country's largest city, Sao Paulo. In total, approximately 200 thousand people took part in the rallies. The protest was also supported by Brazilian football stars such as Romario.

The peaceful march in the evening escalated into sporadic clashes with police in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. A small group of radical activists began setting fire to cars, garbage containers, and looting stores and ATMs. The same people threw Molotov cocktails and coconuts at the police. The police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. In some places real bullets were used. Several people broke into the parliament building in the capital Brasilia and climbed onto the roof of the building. 80 police officers cleared the parliament of demonstrators, and dozens were injured. By midnight, the police established control and began making arrests.

The harsh methods used to disperse the demonstrators are explained by the fact that the unrest in the cities took the authorities by surprise, and the Brazilian police, prone to brutality and violence, have not fundamentally reformed since the dictatorship. The police, who dispersed the demonstrators with bullets and gas, were following the orders of Rio State Governor Sergio Cabral, whose actions put President Dilma Rousseff in a difficult position.

Experts in Latin American politics say that protest rallies in Brazil are extremely rare, and what is now happening on the streets of Rio de Janeiro is unexpected, first of all, for the Brazilian authorities themselves. The last significant anti-government protest occurred in 1992. Experts believe that it is mainly the newly emerged middle class in Brazil who are protesting. The New York Times draws parallels between the movements in Turkey and Brazil: in both cases, active youth take to the streets, whose protest the authorities are trying to suppress by force.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, long one of Latin America's most popular politicians, said she supported peaceful protest: "It's natural for young people to demonstrate." But Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo immediately warned the demonstrators: no protests could disrupt the 2014 FIFA World Cup.