Arguably the world’s greatest sporting festival in a country arguably considered the world’s greatest partying nation is about to begin. It’s perfect, right?
Wrong.
Ever since the announcement that Brazil would host the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the sentiment that this is the wrong place and time for such an event have only grown louder. While the country has taken great strides forward in its macroeconomic statistics in the last decade, there remains the accusation that this has not disseminated to Brazil’s massive middle- and lower-class population. The massive infrastructure work on stadiums, hotels and new transportation systems has been far from smooth sailing; only two months before kick-off, FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke made the honest assessment that “we are not ready.” The slow upgrading of Brazil’s stadiums has been coupled with protests against the government as inflation has gone higher, and at its peak over a million Brazilians were on the streets last year.
There is little doubt that much of the current Brazilian government’s reelection chances are hinged on the success of the World Cup. In this respect, the millions that have been bankrolled into improving the transportation and sporting facilities for the country will leave a prominent shadow for years to come. The concern remains mainly for low-income families in rural areas, where upgrade work is minimal, as well as those in major urban centers where the residents of some neighborhoods are being relocated. A professor of urban planning at Rio de Janeiro Federal University, Orlando Santos Junior, told me that this is part of an effort to move the poor to the outskirts of major cities with facilities for the rich in the city centers. Until the Brazilian government can make a sincere effort to lead its entire population to a position of economic well-being, this World Cup and the Rio Olympics will only leave a legacy of widening income disparity in a country that is already so divided.
So, when the battle for global supremacy begins on the pitch on June 12, keep in mind that there are games being played in Brazil that you won’t necessarily see on your television screens.