With the World Cup just weeks away many soccer enthusiasts worldwide are pumped with excitement for this event. However, there are more far reaching issues involved with the host nation Brazil and one of those issues is poverty.
Brazilians in Philadelphia are not thrilled about the exorbitant amount of taxpayer dollars being used to fund the construction of multiple stadiums on their native soil in order to host the World Cup. Furthermore, the 2014 World Cup is the most expensive.
Brazil is one of the most impoverished nations in the world. According to World Bank, 15.8 percent of Brazilians were at the poverty line in 2012.
By Brazil is a local business in Northeast Philadelphia that sells a multitude of merchandise that represents the nation of Brazil. These items range from green-and-yellow hats, stickers, jerseys, and flags among other things.
However, store owner Lindolfo Neto expressed his distress with the current situation in Brazil by asking, “How are we going to spend millions building stadiums, and our people don’t have hospitals or schools?”
It is extremely difficult for Brazilians to be excited about being the host nation to one of the biggest sporting events with the poverty rate being the way it is.
As a matter of fact, civil unrest amongst several Brazilians unfolded as protests and police confrontations have taken place recently. It has even intensified to the point where homeless individuals burned five buses in Sao Paulo last week.
Brazil is hosting the World Cup games as an attempt to ditch the reputation of violence of drugs. The problem is that the protesters see things differently.
The people of Brazil are understandably protesting as they would rather the nation have their priorities in line. That is creating an environment that is conducive to better education, health care, and better living conditions.
Photo Credit: Dippost.com
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