This post is a summary of five articles. The first with the incomplete title above. And published http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324021104578553491848777544. The second was published at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/18/brazil-protests-erupt-huge-. The third was published at http://revolution-news.com/in-depth-analysis-of-protests-in-brazil/. The fourth was published at http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/28/us-brazil-protests-analysis-idUSBRE95R0Y120130628. The fifth was written by Arthur Ituassu professor at PUC-RJ and published http://www.theglobaldispatches.com/articles/brazil-a-crisis-of-representation
A day after the biggest demonstrations in decades gripped Brazil, protest leaders seeking to turn Monday`s venting of national frustation into a long-term movement, and a wary political class searching for footing in a country that has voice a powerful call for change. Brazilian President Dilma Roussef, said in Brasilia. "Those who went to the streets gave a message that they want more citizenship, better schools, better hospitals, more participation. It was a repudiation of corruption, and careless use of government money." The protests began last week among students in S.P. over a fare increase for buses that many here consider inadequate. Many mayors have already canceled the increased. But indignation has already expanded to a litany of long-standing Brazilian gripes. For some Brazil observers, the massive but diffuse protests represented a kind of "awakening" of a new Brazilian middle class, that now is demanding greater accountability from its political class. "The fare bus increase was a small drop in a full bucket," said Rodrigo Vidaurre, 24, a student who was protesting in Rio. For some observers, the protest represents frustration with rising costs of living even as the economy slows at the end of a commodities boom. There is no single voice for the protest movement. But there are plenty of glaring examples of what is bothering middle class sensibilities. Brazilians live in congested cities where prices have soared so much that meals, movies and coffee often costs more here than in New York.
Brazil experienced one of its biggest nights of protest in decades on Monday as more than 100,000 people took to the streets to express their frustration at poor public services. The unrest escalated during the night as a large crowd set several fires outside the legislative assembly in Rio, at least one car was overturn. The causes pursued by the protesters varied widely. "I am an architect but I have been unemployed for six months. There must be something wrong with this country," said Nadia al Husin, holding up a banner calling on the government to do more for education. "My generation has never experienced this," said Thiago Firbida, a student. "Since the dictatorship Brazilians never bothered to take over the streets. But now Brazil is once again in crisis, with a constant rise in prices, so people are finally reacting." "Comparisons have been drawn with rallies in Turkey and elsewhere by a more networked society with a long catalogue of grievances. Another global link was the evident in the handful of demonstrators who wore Guy Fawkes masks associated with Anonymous group. "Our politicians need to see the strength we have as one people. Brazilians tend to be too nice sometimes, they enjoy partying rather than protesting, but something is changing," said Deli Borsari, 53.
2013 will be remembered for the incredible size and scope of the social mobilization that gripped Brazil. There have been thousands of arrests and the practices of preventative detention are rife. To compound the crackdown on freedom of expression, several bills have been proposed in congress to criminalize demonstrations, including the criminalization of the use of masks in protests and the closure of public roads. The right to protest and freedom of expression is protected under international law, and yet Brazil shows that these rights are being stripped away in the country.
The massive protests that paralyzed Brazil last week appear to have peaked after sending the country`s shaken political establishment a loud message that it needs to change its ways. It´s now up to the politicians to deliver improvements to the country`s deficient public services and more transparent and accountable government demanded by frustrated Brazilians. The protests were fueled by widespread frustration with Brazil`s deplorable education, health and transportation services, rising crime and cost of living, as well as over-spending on soccer`s stadiums. Six people died in the protests, including a young man who fell from an overpass in Belo Horizonte. The protesters used the Confederations Cup to tell the world that Brazil is not just a land of soccer and that their priorities are improved education, healthcare and public transportation. "The political class fears the consequences of this popular revolt. Politicians are keenly aware that if we do not change the way we do things we are going to be trampled on in the next year`s elections," Alvaro Dias leader of opposition in the senate, told. Socialist lawmaker Chico Alencar says the survival instinct of Brazil`s politicians has made them react quickly to the loud criticism from the streets, but changes modernizing Brazil`s democratic system will come only if popular pressure continues.
A good starting-point is the ideas and arguments that have been expressed on the streets and in social media. These represent a fresh voice in Brazil, one unrepresented in the country`s media or its political parties, and counterposed to its old, centralised social-political structures. This voice is attempting to constitute new concepts of political community in a context where at present there is no institutional path available. It is a clash of the new Brazil with the old. Many protesters have focused their criticism on parties and the media, two importants agents of political representation in connecting society to the political sphere. This is reflected in slogans like "no party represents me" and "the people united do not need parties", which were sung together with "we do not need the World Cup, we need health and education." It is early to assess the consequences of June 2013, But three things are already clear. First, the fantasy that Brazil has transformed itself into a paradise is over. It is not possible to hide anymore that cities are now urban catastrophes, marked by traffic-jams, a lack of infrastructure and public services. Second, the top-down modernisation framework based on consumption is now contested. Brazilian people have shown the limits of their tolerance towards political institutions that have failed to solve problems in public healthcare, education and safety. Third, the protest put in question the ability of Brazil`s political institutions to accomodate the new conceptions of life articulated by the protests within Brazil`s political community.
