Goooooaaaalllll!!!!!! This is the popular phrase that people hear all over the world and equate with the World Cup. Excited fans cheer and scream to support their country. Everywhere you turn, people are wearing their favorite soccer teams’ jersey. The crowd goes wild. However, not everyone is so excited by the presence of the World Cup. The World Cup is held in Brazil. The Brazilian government spent $11 billion to host this famous event. There are citizens of Brazil who are angry that their government spent $11 billion on hosting instead of spending that money on hospitals, schools, increasing minimum wage and low income housing. The construction of the stadium for the games have led to a dramatic increase in the rent. Protestors have staged strikes all over Brazil to bring awareness to the problems the country is facing and ignoring. The protestors have decided to use the popularity of the World Cup and the media attention to create a platform for their grievances by inciting awareness. During these protests, the police have used methods such as tear gas to restrain the crowd. Some of the strikes have become violent, while some demonstrations have been peaceful. Some people feel that Brazil should be focusing more on their people and the problems occurring within, than to spend billions of dollars on an event that does not benefit its people. One of the protests occurred after the game between England and Uruguay. The protestors vandalized cars and banks. Some were smashing windows and setting fires. In response, the police used tear gas.
Do you think that the popularity of the World Cup will benefit the citizens of Brazil? Do you think there is an economic benefit to hosting the games? Do you think that the government should have spent billions of dollars to host the event? Do you think that Brazil could have spent that money on the needs of their people?
The popularity of the World Cup could benefit the protesters to receive attention at a minimum from the world community about what has been going on in Brazil. Even though there is an economic benefit in hosting such worldwide games, Brazil should not have spent $11 billion dollars to host this event. I think the amount of money spent for the preparation of this event by the government is what made the public extremely angry. Considering the fact that Brazilian people are more concerned about issues surrounding their day-to-day lives, Brazilian government should have focused the needs of its people first. Further, I believe the government went above and beyond its financial limits if taken together the concerns of Brazilian people about more serious problems regarding education, health, or wages.
Finally, I would like to touch on the use of police force here. When it comes to expressing views on government policies, citizens should be given a wide authority to do so. The use of tear gas by the police, except in extreme situations, could certainly be considered as “excessive.” The police should always think about peaceful demonstrators who would like to be affected by tear gas while trying to disperse the violent crowd because freedom of speech is a fundamental right, and every Brazilian citizen has the right to exercise it without unnecessary interference.
Spending $11 billion is so much for an event like World Cup. I mean, c’mon, there are many things should be prioritize first. Such as better airports. I can’t blame some people of brazil to be frustrated or anger for seeing number nearly as high as the country’s education budget. For some extra reports according to this issue, here is the site, Brazil’s Anti-FIFA Protests .
I understand why “there are citizens of Brazil who are angry that their government spent $11 billion on hosting instead of spending that money on hospitals, schools, increasing minimum wage and low income housing.” People may think of the sporting event as just that. However, it is important to understand that in any business, “you have to spend money to make money.” Here, there is an exorbitant amount of income that will be generated from this event. Between hotels, restaurants and other venues, the money will undeniably the government and people in Brazil.
When it comes to protesting, I believe that all people have the right to free speech, assembly, and that all people should be able to raise awareness and speak their mind about an important issue. I believe that peaceful protests and meaningful and can be fruitful. On the other hand, it is the job of the police to make sure that the protests remain peaceful. In a massive crowd, it is almost impossible for the police to designate who is a peaceful protestor and who is not. Police do not have the time, the man power, nor the ability to determine quickly who is protesting peacefully and who is not. They can only control the crowd as a whole. As such, if police deem the appropriate measure to be tear gas to control the protests, then they should use tear gas. As a result, innocent people may be hurt, but why should the inappropriate protestors get away with their actions and risk further hurting the innocent? It is always the bad apple that spoils the bunch.