Protests could affect re-election chances for Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff.
| Autor | Gaudin, Andres |
For almost a month beginning on June 10, Brazil was a powder keg. A slight increase in the fare for public-transportation--bad and expensive--acted as a detonator. First in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and then in most cities in the country, throngs of people took to the streets calling for a reversal of the fare hike and also demanding improvements in health and education (NotiSur, July 12, 2013). The protest was convoked via social networks by the until-then-unknown Movimento Passe Livre (MPL).
Other small movements joined in, and the main slogan went from a demand for a fare reduction to a demand for free transportation.
The police violently repressed the marches in which tens of thousands of people participated. The crowds responded by burning vehicles, attacking the headquarters of several government agencies, and blocking roads and principle access routes to cities and ports. Six days after the protests began, MPL leaders said that the protests had gotten out of hand and that they had not anticipated such a reaction. They disassociated themselves from new calls for street protests.
The marchers also expressed their indignation at the money spent during those same days on organizing the Confederations Cup--a two-week event involving eight soccer teams--as well as the enormous sums being spent on the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic games, to be hosted by Brazil.
With Brazil in the spotlight because the huge sporting events capture world attention, televised images of streets filled with protesters and police firing weapons into the crowds went around the globe. The opposition press fanned the flames and celebrated. The sporting events guaranteed the protest global coverage that damaged the government's image.
Rousseff embraces protests
On July 12, unions, including the pro-government Central Unica dos Trabalhadores (CUT), called a general strike, paralyzing the country for 24 hours. The following day, President Dilma Rousseff surprised the right. "We welcome the demonstrations. Today Brazil awoke stronger, and my government wants to say that we are willing to listen to the voices from the streets."
Before the strike, Rousseff's predecessor, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2002-2010), had been equally eloquent. "Long live protests," he said. "From protest to protest we are fixing the roof of the house. While protests in Europe are to not lose what has been won, in Brazil they are to gain new conquests."
Various analysts...
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