FIFA World Cup causes financial and human burden on Brazilian cities.
| Autor | Scruggs, Gregory |
As the calendar inches closer day to by day to the opening match of the 2014 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup in Brazil, questions mount about the impact of the global sporting event on the country's 12 host cities. Brought to international attention by last year's street protests, issues such as white-elephant stadiums, cost overruns at public expense, corruption in building contracts (NotiSur, July 1, 2011), human rights abuses against construction workers, and housing evictions in low-income communities persist (NotiSur, March 9, 2012). While the tournament draws are complete and soccer fans have depleted the first round of ticket sales, the behind-the-scenes preparation has been a far less smooth process.
Particular items of concern include overly large stadiums in Manaus, Brasilia, and Cuiaba; worker fatalities at new stadiums under construction in Sao Paulo and Manaus; and forced evictions in the wealthy southern capitals of Curitiba and Porto Alegre. The World Cup has subsequently received a recent barrage of negative media attention, driven by eyewitness reports and systematic documentation by civil-society groups. Several Brazilian companies and public agencies have in turn been compelled to release statements in defense of their business practices and procurement policies. Indeed, the context of the World Cup has, thus far, eclipsed the conversation about the game itself even as the Brazilian team remains a favorite to win a record sixth title at home.
"Many commentators have said that Brazil has already lost the World Cup because of the lost opportunities to use the event as a way of materially improving Brazilian cities," explains Christopher Gaffney, visiting professor of urbanism at the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro state. "What happens on the field in June and July will be forgotten very quickly but the daily lives of people will continue to happen in places that have been adversely impacted by forced removals, regimes of exception, and white-elephant projects (both stadiums and transport) that do not meet the present or future demands of Brazilian cities."
Stadium woes most visible thorn in World Cup panorama
As the main symbol of the World Cup, the 12 stadiums--either new or renovations--that will host the 64 matches in June and July have become the most obvious subject of controversy as global TV cameras will be trained on their pitches and stands. While...
Para continuar leyendo
Solicita tu pruebaCOPYRIGHT GALE, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
