FIFA World Cup 2014: Brazil’s overflowing cup of woes

Protests in Brazil have become a norm, with civil unrest and inflation a serious problem

The world of Football is about to converge on its spiritual home. We are less than 50 days from an impending flood of religious fervour. There is the promise of soulful music and rhythmic gyrations to go with it, but not everything about the impending World Cup in Brazil is in perfect harmony. Of course, by the time the ball is put in play on June 13, there will indeed be an unprecedented carnival. The warts and wrinkles will be forgotten, but that does not mean we can wish them away.

Millions of prayerful fans might in fact be far better prepared than some of the venues, as they wait to submerge the religious home of the beautiful game in an avalanche of passion and spirit. As if that weren’t enough reason to brood about, Brazil is dealing with a simmering tempest among its people, fuelled by rising inflation and incompetent fiscal management.

As with any festival of this magnitude and gravity, a lot of the issues will be conveniently forgotten as the spirit of celebration overwhelms the senses of the nation and its drenched people. Now though is the time for us to understand some of the glaring problems that have besotted the much anticipated return to home of the World Cup.

Sixty four years is a long time and one might have expected the people of Brazil to count their blessings at the return of the biggest spectacle in football to their shores. After all, this was an opportunity for Brazil to try and heal some of the wounds that might have remained raw from that 1-2 defeat to Uruguay, in one of the biggest upsets in football history.

Instead there have been wide spread protests across the country at the extravagance surrounding the nearly $15bn event amidst the crippling problems that are stifling the lives of Brazilians.

Last year, over a million people took to the streets in protest at the start of the Confederations Cup to express their discontent at the state of affairs. An increase in bus fares was enough to get people out on the streets in as many as 80 cities across this continent sized nation.

High inflation and rising prices, the high handedness of gun toting policemen, crumbling public infrastructure and a general state of economic disparity have been at the heart of this discontent among the common folk in Brazil.

The underlying tensions have been brought to the surface again this week, with the death of Douglas Pereira, who was a member of the funk group Bonde da Madrugada. The dancer perished to a bullet that pierced his lung as police clashed with suspected drug traffickers.

The untimely death of the dancer, who was in the area to practice with his group and meet his four year old daughter highlights the manner in which violence has marred life on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.

The collateral damage only got worse the next day, when 27 year old Edilson da Silva Santos died from a bullet wound to his face as police dealt with the protests with the weapons at their disposal.

The social milieu of this country, in the throes of disparate development, is under the scanner, given the large communities of people expected to arrive from across the globe for the month long extravaganza.

Brazilian authorities will need to find the means and methods to deal with the opinionated and passionate fans who come with the history and baggage of their own violent methods, especially from Europe and other parts of South America.

The strobe lights will be on Brazil and the crowd management measures practiced by the authorities may invite wide spread criticism, unless they are perceived to be democratic and proportionate to the situations that may present themselves during the month long carnival.

Then there is the issue of infrastructure. While Brazil has left no stone unturned to deck up the venues and build new stadia, there are question marks over the quality of outcomes. In December last year a crane collapsed at a stadium under construction, taking the death toll from World Cup related construction activity to nine.

And seven years after being awarded the marquee event, the stadium that is meant to host the opening match between the hosts and Croatia in São Paulo on 12 June is still a work under progress. There are several other venues which are in a similar state.

The World Cup offered a great opportunity for Brazil to showcase its growing reputation as the powerhouse of Latin America. Instead allegations of incompetency and widespread abuse of the public exchequer have garnered most of the headlines, causing heartburn and consternation among the citizens.

Theoretically, the World Cup is designed to spread the perceived economic benefits from the event across this vast land of natural wealth. The matches will be held across twelve cities, with many more locations serving to play host to the 32 teams vying for the biggest honour in the game.

In reality, economists believe that Brazil has overdone its pie, in choosing to host the event in twelve cities rather than opting to do it from eight venues. There are justifiable concerns that Brazil might have built celebratory behemoths that will prove difficult to sustain, since some of the host cities do not even have local football clubs.

There is also legitimate concern that commuting between the twelve cities shall create a virtual logjam during the event, considering that little has been done to scale up the infrastructure connecting the various cities.

It also remains to be seen, if some of these airports, built mainly to handle moderate tourist flows manage to stand the stress of crazed football fans seeking to transition from one place to another at almost the same time.

The people at the centre of the organisation and those heading the polity will do well to remember and learn from the disastrous excesses of the Greece Olympics, which brought an entire nation down to its knees.

If Brazil does not give it adequate thought, this World Cup and the Olympics that follow in 2016 might leave this beautiful South American nation in similar disarray.

“I want a Brazil that is fair and safe and healthier and more honest!” averred Neymar on his blog last year. It is a lofty desire that is nearly utopian for Brazil, but if he could turn on some magic on the field it will make it easy for five-time champions Brazil and the many millions in attendance to forget the imperfections punctuating the story of this world cup.