Latest Brazil protests bring 250,000 on to streets
Anger as legislation that ties federal prosecutors' hands when investigating crime is seen as a shield for corrupt politicians
Email
A man lies on the ground after police fired tear gas during a protest outside the Minerao stadium in Belo Horizonte while Japan was playing Mexico in the Confederations Cup. Photograph: Felipe Dana/AP
More than 250,000 anti-government protesters have again taken to the streets in several Brazilian cities and engaged police in isolated intense conflicts. Demonstrators vowed to stay in the streets until concrete steps are taken to reform the political system.
Across Brazil protesters gathered to denounce legislation known as PEC 37 that would limit the power of federal prosecutors to investigate crimes. Many fear the laws would hinder attempts to jail corrupt politicians.
Federal prosecutors were behind the investigation into the biggest corruption case in Brazil's history, the so-called "mensalão" cash-for-votes scheme that came to light in 2005 and involved top aides of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva buying off members of congress to vote for their legislation.
Last year the supreme court condemned two dozen people in connection to the case, which was hailed as a watershed moment in Brazil's fight against corruption. However those condemned have yet to be jailed because of appeals, a delay that has enraged Brazilians.
The protests continued despite a primetime speech the night before from President Dilma Rousseff, a former leftist guerrilla who was tortured during Brazil's military dictatorship. She tried to appease demonstrators by reiterating that peaceful protests were a welcome, democratic action and emphasising that she would not condone corruption in her government.
"Dilma is underestimating the resolve of the people on the corruption issue," said Mayara Fernandes, a medical student who took part in a march Saturday in São Paulo. "She talked and talked and said nothing. Nobody can take the corruption of this country any more."
The wave of protests began as opposition to transportation fare hikes, then became a laundry list of causes including anger at high taxes, poor services and high World Cup spending, before coalescing around the issue of rampant government corruption. They have become the largest public demonstrations that Latin America's biggest nation has seen in two decades.
Across Brazil police estimated that about 60,000 demonstrators gathered in a central square in the city of Belo Horizonte, 30,000 shut down a main business avenue in São Paulo and another 30,000 gathered in the city in southern Brazil where a nightclub fire killed over 240 mostly university students, deaths many argued could have been avoided with better government oversight of fire laws. Tens of thousands more protested in more than 100 Brazilian cities, bringing the nationwide total to 250,000, according to a police count published on the website of O Globo TV, Brazil's largest television network.
In Belo Horizonte police used teargas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters who tried to pass through a barrier and hurled rocks at a car dealership. Salvador also saw protests turn violent.
During her pre-recorded TV speech Rousseff promised that she would always battle corruption and that she would meet with peaceful protesters, governors and the mayors of big cities to create a national plan to improve urban transportation and use oil royalties for investments in education.
Many Brazilians, shocked by a week of protests and violence, hoped that Rousseff's words after several days of silence from the leader would soothe tensions and help avoid more violence, but not all were convinced by her promises of action. Victoria Villela, a 21-year-old university student in the São Paulo protest, said she was "frustrated and exhausted by the endless corruption of our government".
"It was good Dilma spoke but this movement has moved too far, there was not much she could really say. All my friends were talking on Facebook about how she said nothing that satisfied them. I think the protests are going to continue for a long time and the crowds will still be huge."
In the north-eastern city of Salvador, where Brazil's national football team played Italy and won 4-2 in a Confederations Cup match, about 5,000 protesters gathered three miles (5km) from the stadium, shouting demands for better schools and transportation and denouncing heavy spending on next year's World Cup.
They blocked a main road and clashed with riot police who moved in to clear the street. Protesters said police used rubber bullets and tossed teargas canisters from a helicopter hovering overhead. The protesters scattered and fled to a nearby shopping mall, where they tried to take shelter in an underground parking garage.
"We sat down and the police came and asked us to free up one lane for traffic. As we were organising our group to do just that, the police lost their patience and began to shoot at us and throw [tear gas] canisters," said Rodrigo Dorado.
That was exactly the type of conflict Rousseff said needed to end, not just so Brazilians could begin a peaceful national discussion about corruption but because much of the violence is taking place in cities hosting foreign tourists attending the Confederations Cup.
Brazil's news media, which had blasted Rousseff in recent days for her lack of response to the protests, seemed largely unimpressed with her careful speech but noted the difficult situation facing a government trying to understand a mass movement with no central leaders and a flood of demands. With "no objective information about the nature of the organisation of the protests", wrote Igor Gielow in a column for Brazil's biggest newspaper, Folha de S Paulo, "Dilma resorted to an innocuous speech to cool down spirits".
At the protests' height an estimated million anti-government demonstrators took to the streets nationwide on Thursday night with grievances ranging from public services to the billions of dollars spent preparing for international sports events.
Outside the stadium in Belo Horizonte where Mexico and Japan met in a Confederations Cup game, Dadiana Gamaleliel, a 32-year-old physiotherapist, held up a banner that read: "Not against the games, in favour of the nation."
"I am protesting on behalf of the whole nation because this must be a nation where people have a voice … we don't have a voice any more," she said.
She said Rousseff's speech would not change anything. "She spoke in a general way and didn't say what she would do," Gamaleliel said. "We will continue this until we are heard."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/21/brazil-protests-football-world-cup
Brazil's protests raise fears for World Cup as a million take to the streets
Football becomes focus of furious outcry against corruption, police brutality, dire public services, high prices and street crime
A Brazilian protester in Sao Paulo wears a Guy Fawkes mask made famous by the film V for Vendetta and now seen in demonstrations across the world. Photograph: Brazil Photo Press/CON/LatinContent/Getty
Football supporters fleeing rubber bullets, roads into stadiums blocked by angry crowds, mobs throwing stones at Fifa offices, Confederations Cupplacards being ripped down and burned in the midst of mass protests.
These are unlikely scenes in a football-mad country and the last thing organisers of the World Cup wanted to see in Brazil before next year's tournament, but for the past week they have become an almost daily occurrence as the country's favourite sport has become the focus of the biggest demonstrations in decades.
In a speech broadcast nationally on Friday night the Brazilian president,Dilma Rousseff, said she accepted the need for change but warned thatviolence would not be tolerated and appealed to protesters not to endanger the World Cup.
More than a million people took to the streets on Thursday night in at least 80 cities in a rising wave of protest that has coincided with the Confederations Cup. This Fifa event was supposed to be a dry run for players and organisers before next year's finals, but it is police and protesters who are getting the most practice.
The host cities have been the focus of furious demonstrations, prompting local authorities to request security reinforcements from the national government.
The rallies, and the violence that has often followed, were not solely prompted by the tournament. The spark last week was a rise in public transport fares. Anger has since been further stirred by police brutality.
Longstanding problems such as corruption, dire public services, high prices and low levels of safety are also prominent among the range of grievances.
But the mega-event has been the lightning conductor. Many protesters are furious that the government is spending 31bn reals (£9bn) to set the stage for a one-time global tournament, while it has failed to address everyday problems closer to home.
"I'm here to fight corruption and the expense of the World Cup," said Nelber Bonifcacio, an unemployed teacher who was among the vast crowds in Rio on Thursday.
"I like football, but Brazil has spent all that money on the event when we don't have good public education, healthcare or infrastructure."
It was all very different in 2007 when Brazil was awarded the tournament. Back then, crowds in Rio erupted with joy and Ricardo Teixeira, president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, was hailed as he said: "We are a civilised nation, a nation that is going through an excellent phase, and we have got everything prepared to receive adequately the honour to organise an excellent World Cup."
In the outside world, few doubted the wisdom of the decision. Football belonged in Brazil. In the home of carnival and samba, it would be a party like no other.
But euphoria has steadily faded as preparations for 2014 have drawn attention to the persistent ills of corruption, cronyism, inequality and public insecurity. Those who appeared to have the Midas touch in 2007 now seem cursed.
Teixeira was forced to resign last year amid accusations of bribery. Former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been tainted by revelations of massive vote-buying by the ruling Workers party. Fifa too is mired in a series of corruption scandals that have led to the resignations of several senior executives.
The renovation and construction of most of the 12 World Cup stadiumshas been late and over budget. Several have been pilloried as white elephants because they are being built in cities with minor teams. The new £325m Mané Garrincha stadium in Brasília – which hosted the opening game of the Confederations Cup – has a capacity of 70,000, but the capital's teams rarely attract more than a few hundred fans.
Similarly, the lower-division sides in Cuiabá and Manaus will struggle to fill a fraction of their 40,000 plus-seater stadiums.
The government downplays such concerns, saying the stadiums promote development and have been built for multi-purpose use so they do not have to rely on football for revenue.
But suspicions that the construction companies – a main source of kickbacks for politicians – will be the main beneficiaries of the tournament have grown, particularly in Rio, where the Maracanã stadium has been refurbished for the second time in a decade at a cost of more than 1bn reals (£295m). It was rebuilt with public money, but the concession to run it has been offered to a private firm, covering barely a fifth of the costs.
Meanwhile, Fifa has announced record revenues from broadcasting rights and corporate sponsorship for 2014 – none of which will go to Brazil's public coffers. With negative headlines also related to evictions and poor engineering quality, the growing public unease alarmed many in the sport even before the protests began.
Former national team players Romário, Tostão and Zico have been warning for many months that something is amiss.
"The population of Brazil seems distant from the World Cup because of what people see as corruption and the overspend on the stadiums and the lack of transparency," Zico told the Guardian.
With public fury now on full display, football's leading lights also seem divided about how to respond. The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, and Pelé– the superstar turned MasterCard ambassador – have drawn derision by calling on protesters to decouple the Confederations Cup and the demonstrations. Ronaldo has been lambasted for remarking: "A World Cup isn't made with hospitals, my friend. It's made with stadiums."
Bruno Danna, a shop employee who joined the protests on Thursday, said: "I'm not against football. I will cheer the national team. But I'm mad at Ronaldo and Pelé." The current national team, in contrast, have been vocal in their support for the demonstrations. "I want a Brazil that is fair and safe and healthier and more honest!" wrote Neymar on his Instagram blog. The Chelsea defender David Luiz and the midfielder Hulk have also expressed solidarity with those on the street. What happens next is hard to predict.
The government has backed down on the bus fare increase, but it will be harder to meet the protesters' demands about the World Cup. The funds are mostly spent and the stadiums cannot be unbuilt.
The next potential flashpoints are the Brazil v Italy game in Salvador, and Japan v Mexico in Belo Horizonte before more planned marches on Saturday, as well as the final on 30 June.
Fifa has denied speculation that it will call off the Confederations Cup, and the authorities have beefed up security. But the tense situation is hurting the chances of a successful event next year.
In a country where football is almost the national religion, people want to enjoy the World Cup, but for millions Fifa has become a tainted brand, associated with a distant global elite who profit at the expense of local people.
As one banner, held aloft by a football-loving protester – Leandro Ferreir – said on Thursday: "We don't want a country that is beautiful only for gringos."
Brazil burning: The story of an illusion gone sour
Published time: June 20, 2013 16:58
Protests in Brazil indicate what goes way, way beyond a cheap bus fare.
When, in late 2010, Dilma Rousseff was elected President after eight years of the impossibly popular Lula, a national narrative was already ingrained, stressing that Brazil was not the “country of the future” anymore; the future had arrived, and this was a global power in the making.
This was a country on overdrive – from securing the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics to a more imposing role as part of the BRICS group of emerging powers.
Not unlike China, Brazil was breathlessly exploiting natural resources – from its hinterland to parts of Africa – while betting heavily on large agribusiness mostly supplying, you guess it, China.
But above all Brazil fascinated the world by incarnating this political UFO; a benign, inclusive giant, on top of it benefitting from a lavish accumulation of soft power (music, football, beautiful beaches, beautiful women, endless partying).
The country was finally enjoying the benefits of a quarter of a century of participative democracy – and self-satisfied that for the past ten years Lula’s extensive social inclusion policies had lifted arguably 40 million Brazilians to middle class status. Racial discrimination at least had been tackled, with instances of the Brazilian version of affirmative action.
Yet this breakneck capitalist dream masked serious cracks. Locally there may be euphoria for becoming the sixth or seventh world economy, but still social exclusion was far from gone. Brazil remained one the most (deadly) unequal nations in the world, peppered with retrograde landowning oligarchies and some of the most rapacious, arrogant and ignorant elites on the planet – inevitable by-products of ghastly Portuguese colonialism.
And then, once again, corruption raised its Hydra-like head. Here’s a first parallel with Turkey. In Brazil as in Turkey, participative democracy was co-opted, ignored or forcefully diluted among an orgy of“mega-projects” generating dubious profits for a select few. In Turkey it revolves around the ruling party AKP’s collusion with business interests in the “redevelopment” of Istanbul; in Brazil around public funds for the hosting of the World Cup and the Olympics.
The new capitalist dream could not mask that the quality of life in Brazil’s big cities seemed to be on a downward spiral; and that racism – especially in the police – never went away while the demonization of peasant and Native Brazilian leaders was rampant; after all they were obstructing the way of powerful agribusiness interests and the “mega-projects” craze.
What can a poor boy do
There’s no Turkey Spring – as there’s no Brazilian Spring. This isn’t Tunisia and Egypt. Both Turkey and Brazil are democracies – although Prime Minister Erdogan has clearly embarked on a polarizing strategy and an authoritarian drive. What links Turkey and Brazil is that irreversible pent-up resentment against institutional politics (and corruption) may be catalyzed by a relatively minor event.
In Turkey it was the destruction of Gezi park; in Brazil the ten-cent hike in public bus fares was the proverbial straw that broke the (white) elephant’s back. In both cases the institutional response was tear gas and rubber bullets. In Turkey the popular backlash spread to a few cities. In Brazil it went nationwide.
This goes way, way beyond a cheap bus ride - although the public transport scene in Brazil’s big cities would star in Dante’s ninth circle of hell. A manual worker, a student, a maid usually spend up to four hours a day back-and-forth in appalling conditions. And these are private transport rackets controlled by a small group of businessmen embedded with local politicians, who they obviously own.
Arguably the nationwide, mostly peaceful protests have scored a victory – as nine cities have decided to cancel the bus fare hike. But that’s just the beginning.
The mantra is true; Brazilians pay developed world taxes and in return get sub-Saharan Africa quality of service (no offense to Africa). The notion of “value for money” is non-existent. It gets even worse as the economic miracle is over. That magical “growth” was less than 1% in 2012, and only 0.6% in the first quarter of 2013. The immensely bloated state bureaucracy, the immensely appalling public infrastructure, virtually no investment in education as teachers barely get paid $300 a month, non-stop political corruption scandals, not to mention as many homicides a year as narco-purgatory Mexico – none of this is going away by magic.
Football passion apart – and this is a nation where everyone is either an expert footballer or an experienced coach – the vast majority of the population is very much aware the current Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup are monster FIFA rackets. As a columnist for the Brazilian arm of ESPN has coined it, “the Cup is theirs, but we pay the bills.”
Public opinion is very much aware the Feds played hardball to get the “mega-events” to Brazil and then promised rivers of “social” benefits in terms of services and urban development. None of that happened. Thus the collective feeling that “we’ve been robbed” – all over again, as anyone with a digital made in China calculator can compare this multi-billion dollar orgy of public funds for FIFA with pathetically little investment in health, education, transportation and social welfare. A banner in the Sao Paulo protests said it all; “Your son is ill? Take him to the arena.”
Remember “Standing Man”
The neo-liberal gospel preached by the Washington consensus only values economic “growth”measured in GDP numbers. This is immensely misleading; it does not take into account everything from rising expectations for more participative democracy to abysmal inequality levels, as well as the despair of those trying to just survive (as in the orgy of expanded credit in Brazil leaving people to pay annual interest rates of over 200% on their credit cards).
So it takes a few uprooted trees in Istanbul and a more expensive shitty bus ride in Sao Paulo to hurl citizens of the “emerging markets” into the streets. No wonder the Brazilian protests left politicians - and“analysts” - perplexed and speechless. After all, once again this was people power – fueled by social media - against the 1%, not that dissimilar from protests in Spain, Portugal and Greece.
Unlike Erdogan in Turkey – who branded Twitter “a menace” and wants to criminalize social networking - to her credit Rousseff seems to have listened to the digital (and street) noise, saying on Tuesday that Brazil “woke up stronger” because of the protests.
The Brazilian protests are horizontal. Non-partisan; beyond party politics. No clear leaders. It’s a sort of Occupy Brazil – with a cross-section of high-school and college students, poor workers who struggle to pay their bus fare, vast swathes of the tax-swamped middle class who cannot afford private health insurance, even homeless people, who after all already live in the streets. Essentially, they want more democracy, less corruption, and to be respected as citizens, getting at least some value for their money in terms of public services.
The die is cast. Once again, it’s people power vs. institutional politics. Remember “Standing Man” in Taksim Square. The time to take a stand is now.
Erdogan told thousands of his party’s supporters in The coastal city of Samsun, “”The same game is now being played over Brazil,” Erdogan said. “The symbols are the same, the posters are the same, Twitter, Facebook are the same, the international media is the same. They (the protests) are being led from the same center.” “They are doing their best to achieve in Brazil what they could not achieve in Turkey. It’s the same game, the same trap, the same aim.”
Let’s play detective. There is one government who is known for being able to do such things and have done in the past and that is the United States. Which makes no sense since they are a NATO member, supportive of an invasion of Syria and an ally. Brazil, not so much. Do Brazil and Turkey have any common enemies with the means for such a massive plot? I don’t think so. I’ve never heard of Russia or China being in the game of coups by revolution (or so it seems) and they are the only 2 countries I can think of with the possible means to pull off such a stunt. France and the Uk I believe do not have that kind of capability. Crtaintly with others but not by themselves and certainly not against Turkey cause again, they are a NATO ally. -Mort
Turkey’s intelligence service begins probe into 'foreign links' of Gezi Park protests
An intelligence investigation on the alleged links of protests, that has shaken the country for weeks, is launched, according to a source. ‘Any incident like this is of course under investigation,’ the source says
Protesters in Kennedy Street witness another police intervention shortly before midnight on June 20. Ankara residents have been lending support to the Kuğulu Park protesters via a popular form of passive defiance, the ‘standing person.’ DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ
Serkan Demirtaşserkan.demirtas@hdn.com.tr“Different units of MİT [National Intelligence Service] are working on different aspects of this movement. The outcome of this work will be submitted to the government,” a senior security official told the Hürriyet Daily NewsJune 21.
Although the protests erupted following a harsh police intervention against a handful environment activists protecting the trees in Gezi Park, at the heart of Istanbul’s Taksim Square, the government believes the mass uprising was a plot against Turkey, in which some foreign powers and international financial institutions played a crucial role. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other top government official have also said they have evidence of this.
MİT’s different units have started to work to find international links to the plot, officials confirmed. “Any incident like this, with this magnitude, is of course under investigation. Our organization is working on this,” they said.
‘Natural for intelligence’
The incident has many dimensions, including security and keeping public order, officials said, adding, “It’s only natural for MİT to come up with its own findings. They would surely be shared with the government.”
A pro-government newspaper, Yeni Şafak, reported a scenario focusing on a possible revolt in Istanbul being discussed at a meeting held at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in February. Government officials have credited such scenarios, adding that the purpose was to slow down the economic and political rise of Turkey. They have also claimed that international media played a part in this plot by agitating the protests through one-sided broadcasting and publications.
The Foreign Ministry has also started research on how these incidents have been conveyed in other countries. “I demanded a report detailing which efforts these countries took to create a perception against Turkey, which instruments were used in this process, what our embassies did and what were our citizens’ reactions,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said.
The initial findings of the probes conducted by MİT, the Foreign Ministry and other state institutions will be discussed at large at the National Security Council (MGK) meeting slated for June 25. Interior Minister Muammer Güler is expected to brief the council on the protests.
June/22/2013
Police intervene with water cannons against protesters gathered at Taksim Square
Riot police intervened with water cannons around 8:35 p.m. local time to the crowd peacefully gathered at the Taksim Square. Protesters had placed red carnations on police's water cannon trucks. REUTERS photo
After warning the crowd to disperse from the square, riot police used water cannons to quell the demonstration.
Many protesters had started to disperse following police’s warning. The square was mostly cleared after the intervention as some protesters regrouped at the İstiklal Avenue which intersects with the square.
Police reportedly fired tear gas against demonstrators that scattered in the side streets linking to the İstiklal Avenue. Tear gas was also reported at the Sıraselviler Avenue that also intersects with the Taksim Square.
The Taksim Solidarity Platform had called on protesters to hold carnations to commemorate the four casualties of the protests and demand the implementation of their previous conditions put forward in talks with the government during the three-week-long demonstrations.
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputies Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Sabahat Tuncel and Ertuğrul Kürkçü had also attended the demonstration.
No political messages or flags were displayed as protesters only brought Taksim Platform banners and the national flag.
The crowd condemned the closure of the park, chanting "open park, belonging to the public."
June/22/2013
Foreign attachés wear red in Ankara, to support Gezi in absence of Turkish gov’t officials
Spouses of some attachés as well as some female attachés from various embassies in Ankara displayed their support for the Gezi protests with their red dresses. Hürriyet photo
The event was hosted by British Ambassador to Turkey David Reddaway to celebrate the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II and the United Kingdom Armed Forces Day, held on June 20, and was not attended by any officials from the government.
“We wanted to support the Turkish people in the Gezi Park events,” the ladies in red said while posing for the photographers, making a reference to a lady wearing a red dress who became a symbol of the protests after she was photographed being exposed to tear gas in the early days of the protests in Gezi Park, marking the disproportionate police force used to crush the protests.
“Outside these lovely gardens, these are challenging times.” Reddaway, meanwhile, said as he referred to Gezi protests in his welcoming speech.
“As you know, we and Turkey’s many other friends have been distressed by the violence and injuries we have seen in Turkey’s streets in recent weeks. We hope to see an outcome which shows the world that Turkey is a democracy in which people of diverse views and backgrounds can gather to express their views peacefully and with dignity within the framework of the law,” Reddaway said.
Remarkably, no officials from the government attended the reception, an exceptional case considering the history of the event, -- particularly the last decade since the bilateral relations between the EU and now-full membership candidate Turkey have become institutionalized in the first half of 2000s.
“I would like to thank the Europe Minister for his kind greetings and his apology that he cannot be with us in person this evening because of unavoidable commitments in Istanbul,” Reddaway elaborated on this point, as EU Minister Egemen Bağış is known to have traditionally attended the event in the past years.
While the fate of the relationship between the EU and Turkey is being questioned since Germany and the Netherlands have been objecting to the opening of a new chapter as planned on June 26, Reddaway urged Turkey to pursue the membership route. “We urge our Turkish friends to persist with those reforms as a Turkish process for Turkey’s benefit. We stand ready to work with you,” he said.
Not official photo, British Embassy says
As of June 21, the British Embassy hastily released a statement to clarify that the photograph used in the related news reports was “not an official photograph” of the embassy.
“There is no United Kingdom diplomat in the photograph,” said the brief statement, adding that “the comments concerning Gezi Park used in the news report do not reflect the official opinions of the U.K. government.” The statement was referring to a report daily Hürriyet published June 21.
June/21/2013
No comments:
Post a Comment