Causes of rioting
Origin of riots Riots were sparked off by increase in fare increase in Brazil’s public transportation in major cities like Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro. This was initially led by students who wanted bus fares to be free. The raise in fares was to pay for World cup & Confederation cup costs because of shortfall in budget. Promises had been made that the private enterprise would cover these costs. Protests quickly spread to other cities, dominated by the middle class Protests used as a way to fight for other important causes. Protests peaked in June – July, but have continued since then.
Main causes of riots 1.Public Transportation Prices Increase in fares sparked off the riots but the riots grew to include other issues as seen below. Protesters want the public transport fares to remain the same while students and some leaders want them to be free.
Main causes of riots 2. Resentment of scale of spending on sports extravaganza (World Cup, Confederations Cup Olympics) Demonstrators targeted soccer stadiums in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro as part of an effort to raise awareness about the extraordinary amounts of money the government has on 12 stadiums to host the World Cup and the Confederations Cup. Taxpayers are footing the bill in spite of promises that private enterprise would cover it.
Main causes of riots 3. Poor quality of health & education systems & other infrastructure No justification for extravagant spending on sports events instead of dealing with social issues like improving the state of hospitals, schools, airports, ports, subway systems etc. Brazil spending a particularly high amount of money on the stadium developments to implement green technology which has also required the use of foreign technology and labor.
Main causes of riots 4. Evictions Violations of rights of the people who lived on the land that was repossessed for use. Approximately 30,000 families in Rio de Janeiro alone with an overall estimate at 170,000 people evicted countrywide. Violent evictions in which families received notifications to leave their homes in a few hours carrying their belongings and then immediately had their homes demolished. Compensation measures, resettlement plans and assistance programs are not presented in advance, nor disclosed in public. (lack of transparency)
Main causes of riots 5. Corruption The government is seen to be “feeding” corruption. There are several corruption scandals which remain without trial, and the cases being judged have been tending to end with the acquittal of the defendants. Elected officials can spend thousands of dollars on airline tickets, housing expenses, etc which is obtained through embezzlement.
Main causes of riots 6. Police Brutality Police officers use tear gas and rubber bullets also against peaceful demonstrators Brazil's defense minister has acknowledged that the police have acted "arbitrarily and violently“ Many have been wounded and others killed.
Main causes of riots 6. Poor working conditions of construction workers There are inadequate conditions offered to laborers Brazil’s labor ministry found 111 workers facing “slave like conditions”. Many recruited found to be recruited from distant states. A construction worker fell to his death in December 2013 from the roof of a World Cup stadium being built in the jungle city of Manaus, second death at the Arena Amazonia Another worker died of a heart attack while working outside the venue a few hours later. inadequate conditions offered to laborers.
Main causes of riots 6. Poor working conditions of construction workers - continued In November 2013, two workers were killed when a crane collapsed at the Sao Paulo stadium that will host the tournament's June 12 opener. Last year, a worker died at the construction site of the stadium in the nation's capital, Brasilia. Another worker died in April at the new Palmeiras stadium
Main causes of riots Messages on banners “No rights, no world cup” “Fifa, go home” “ Wake up Brazil, a teacher is worth more than Neymar”
Fact file Name : Neymar da Silver Santos Jr. Born : February 5, 1992 Age : 22 Teams : FC Barcelona (# 11 Forward) Brazilian national team (#10 Forward)
Fact file Honors South American Footballer of the year (2011) at 19yrs Golden ball for best player in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup Dec 2013, the Guardian ranked him 6 th best footballer in the world May 2013, Sports Pro magazine rated him as the most marketable players in the world ahead of Lionel Messi (2 nd ), Cristiano Ronaldo (8 th ) & Usain Bolt. Net worth : $25 million Earnings : $ 20.5 million Endorsement earnings : $10 million Salary earnings : $ 10.5 million
Fact file Average salary for a teacher in Brazil : $ 18,550 Other countries in comparison Singapore - $ 45,755 (highest) USA - $ 44,917 Egypt - $ 10,604 (lowest) China - $ 17,730 Primary school teacher salary as low as $ 10,600 annually and $ 4,800 in early career
Main causes of riots Links to photos and videos showing the riots million-protest-government-spending-18billion-World-Cup.html million-protest-government-spending-18billion-World-Cup.html brazil-hosting-world-cup brazil-hosting-world-cup protesters-rage #.Uu78R9JdWCM protesters-rage #.Uu78R9JdWCM
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