Street protests continued in several major Brazilian cities on Wednesday including police firing tear gas at some 30,000 demonstrators before the Mexico-Italy Confederations Cup match in Fortaleza.
Numerous images of the protests have become widely circulated such as a photo taken of a Rio de Janiero policeman firing pepper spray at close range in the face of a shocked and possibly terrified woman.
Hundreds of videos depicting the rallies as well as people's reactions to them have been uploaded on YouTube and other websites. One video recorded before the protests, however, has gained viral status and received approximately 1.8 million hits in only three days:
The video was made by Brazilian filmmaker Carla Dauden and describes her ire over Brazil hosting the World Cup next year.
"Suddenly there is all this money available to build new stadiums and the
population is led to believe the World Cup is the change they need for
their lives to get better. But the truth is that most of the money from
the games and the stadiums goes straight to Fifa and we don't see it so
we don't get it and the money from tourists and investors goes to those
who already have money," said Dauden who was born in Florianópolis and lives in the U.S.
The unrest commenced last week in Sao Paulo as a result of a proposed
public transit fare hike that was dropped today by local officials. Nevertheless, the protests have spread to other areas as tens of thousands of people are upset over issues like government corruption, public spending and economic troubles.
The demonstrations have gained additional prominence due to the backdrop of the Confederations Cup, an international soccer tournament that serves as a precursor to the upcoming World Cup. The protests have caught the attention of several players of the Brazilian team like David Luiz who said "They are doing the right thing, what they are saying makes sense and we
have to hear them. Brazil needs to improve, we all know that".
Online Sources - BBC News; Xinhua; National Geographic; Voice of America; SI.com
Video Source - YouTube via user Carla Dauden
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