This post is a tribute for the main event of this year, in my opinion, and for those that take part in it. All the world understood the reasons of millions have gone to protest, the brazilian people deserve a better country. This post is a summary of four articles. The first with the title above, published at http://mondediplo.com/, on July 2013. The second with the title of, "The end of Brazil`s boom: inflation and corruption fuel revolt." Published at http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/a-boom-ends-in-brazil-inflation-and-corruption-fuel-revolt-a-907481.html. The third with the title of, "Brazil, once revered, now rocked by protest." Published at http://www.washingtonpost.com/. The fourth with the title of, "Brazil: protesters angry with poor services and high taxes keep up pressure at Sao Paulo march." Published at http://www.foxnews.com/.
For the first time in 20 years, massive countrywide demonstrations have rocked Brazil. A year ahead of elections, the president knows she needs to listen: the young, the poor and the middle class all want a country that works and that is cleaned of corruption. The president said during the protests, " peaceful demonstrations are legitimate and part of the democratic process." However, she ignored the fact that the country had not seen such massive mobilisation since the end of the dictatorship in 1985. The day before Roussef`s statement, 200,000 had marched. A few days later, their numbers reached a million. It all began on 11 june in SP when residents started to protest against an increase in bus fare. There were soon other protests around the country, with demonstrators denouncing the billions spent on preparations for the world cup and olympic games. They were joined by people weary of widespread corruption and struggling to provide their families with decent healthcare and education. For years after he took office, Lula could count on strong growth to gradually improve living standards, but when Roussef was elected, she faced a difficult international economic situation. Today Brazil is experiencing weaker growth and deindustrialisation, exports of raw materials have risen but those of manufactured goods have fallen sharply. Roussef estimates the middle class at 105 millions. The economist Paulo Kliass refutes her figures and denounces, "the trickery consists of persuading the poor that they are part of the middle class." That illusion is also at variance with the thousand of young people and poor workers at demonstrations who been shouting, "we want a different Brazil," demanding more health and education.
Brazil has always been a permissive society. According to a cynical brazilian saying, everything ends in samba. For decades, the powerful of Brazil have relied on this culture of impunity. And it is also the fury over this mentality that is fueling the wave of protests rolling across the country. And they are rocking the country at a critical moment. The Brazilian economy is starting to falter. Last year, it only grew 0.9% and rating agencies are predicting economic growth of only 2.5% for this year. Roussef is trying to fuel consumption in a bid to kickstart the economy, but this approach has not been successful. Many Brazilians are deeply in debt. Furthermore, lowering interest rates has led to a rise in inflation, with significant prices increases for food and services. Roussef has expanded state capitalism and founded a number of new state-owned companies. Meanwhile, the roads is dilapidated, the ports are run by corrupt trade unions and efforts to expand airports have bogged down. Even the exploitation of deep-sea oil reserves has stagnated. Now, gasoline and ethanol have to be imported. Not much happens without the government in Brazil and, not surprisingly, corruption continues to flourish. The construction of sports facilities for the world cup and olympic games was negotiated with only a handful of contracting companies, and now the projects are billions over budget. Along with the poor and students, a large number of business people are taking the streets. "There is plenty of money, we pay enormous amounts of taxes," said Raoni Nery, 27 years, who joined the protests in Rio, "but we do not receive anything in return."
In 2007, just as this country was being revered for its strong economy, officials announced that Brazil had at last arrived on the world stage with its selection as host of soccer biggest event, the 2014 World Cup. But now hundreds of thousands of Brazilians who have been protesting in dozens of cities are telling the world a different story, that their country, despite improvements, has fallen far short. The spark was a strike against a bus fare hike. Leaderless and assembling through social media, they have become a loud voice against widespread graft. They are tired of paying first-world tax rates for third-world services, from pitiful roads to decrepit airports. Even the cellphone and internet services has drawn the ire of users complaining of high costs and terrible connections. Unlike Egypt or Tunisia, Brazil is an established democracy. Demonstrators here are venting over a range of complaints and calling for changes such as a more accountable government.
Thousand of demonstrators flooded into a square in SP, on tuesday in a historic wave of protests against the shoddy state of public transit, schools and others services. The nationwide protests are giving voice to growing discontent over the gap between the high tax burden in Brazil and the low quality of public infrastructure, after an estimated turnout of 240,000 people in 10 cities, the protests are turning into the most significant in Brazil since the end of the military dictatorship, when crowds rallied to demand the return of democracy. The Brazilian tax planning institute found the tax burden in the country in 2011 stood at 36% of GDP, ranking it 12th among the highest tax burdens of the world. Yet, public services such as schools are in sorry shape. The OECD found in a 2009 educational survey that literacy and math skills of Brazilian 15 years-old ranked 53th out of 65 countries. They say they have lost patience with endemic problems such as government corruption and inefficiency. They are also slamming the government of Brazil for spending billions of dollars on sports stadiums, while leaving other needs unmet.
