BRAZIL: A few hundred protesters led by the masked anarchic Black Bloc group march against the upcoming World Cup in Brazil

Record ID: 695220

  • Title: BRAZIL: A few hundred protesters led by the masked anarchic Black Bloc group march against the upcoming World Cup in Brazil
  • Date: 25th May 2014
  • Summary: SAO PAULO, BRAZIL (MAY 24, 2014) (REUTERS) *NOTE SHOTLIST CONTAINS SOME PROFANITY* MASKED PROTESTER HOLDS BRAZILIAN FLAG WITH "FUCK FIFA" WRITTEN ON IT PROTEST GATHERED IN SE CATHEDRAL SQUARE CLOSE-UP OF RIOT POLICE WITH PROTESTERS IN BACKGROUND RIOT POLICE STAND IN FORMATION NEAR PROTESTERS POLICE OFFICER SEARCHES BACKPACK RIOT POLICE STAND IN FORMATION NEAR PROTESTERS VIEW OF SMALL PROTEST GATHERING
  • Embargoed: 9th June 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7UZ1CCNHD7C3U0HD1WNPN1Q2Y
  • Story Text: The anarchic group Black Bloc led an anti-World Cup protest march through Sao Paulo's city center on Saturday (May 24).
    The few hundred participating protesters gathered first on the step of the Sao Paulo's Se Cathedral before then marching through the city's center.
    The main concerns of protesters centre on the vast sums of public money which have been spent on the FIFA World Cup, whilst health services, education and decent housing continue to fail the Brazilian population.
    Other concerns include corruption within the Brazilian authorities and their failure to deliver on promises for improvements in services.
    The percentage of Brazilians who identify themselves as in favour of the World Cup has dropped from 79 in November 2008 to 48 in April 2014.
    Similarly, the percentage of those who identify themselves as openly against the World Cup has risen from 10 in 2008 to 41 this year.
    One protester who identified himself as only Emiliano said that the protests occurring throughout Brazil are planting the seed for a new common rule.

    "We are here protesting for the construction of common and legitimate rule in Brazil. I think that these acts are important so we can organize people, the youth in school, workers needing work and people in search of housing; organizing them to really get out on the street and protest. We are planting the seed of achieving common rule in Brazil," Emiliano said.
    The predominantly young crowd dressed in black chanted throughout their march "There will be no World Cup" as a comparatively heavy police presence marched alongside the demonstrators.
    Several dozen protesters wore masks or even gas masks.
    At one point police took to searching some protesters backpacks.
    Although the Black Bloc has been present at several protests ending in confrontation and vandalism within the last year the protest on Saturday remained peaceful.
    A protester that preferred to remain anonymous said that the radical and destructive element to some of the past protests were a reaction to police brutality in Brazil's low-income shantytowns, or favelas as they are known locally.

    "The radicalism of the protests is a reaction to how far they have gone. For example, the radical protests that happened in the center, that were shown in the media, showed the way police treat people constantly in the favelas. People are beaten and die in the favelas in the same manner as in the center of town. For me the best thing that can happen is to show in the center of town the crap that happens in the low-income outskirts of the city, what they do in the outskirts," said the anonymous protester.
    Saturday's protest came on the heels of a protest on Thursday (May 22) that brought together an estimated 15,000 demonstrators protesting against urban developments for the World Cup that have by some activist groups' measures left many low-income families homeless.
    In the protest's final stretch on Saturday demonstrators marched down Sao Paulo's principal thoroughfare Avenida Paulista and stopping to burn some Brazilian flags before finally dispersing around 8:00pm local time.
    Authorities in the 12 cities hosting World Cup games are bracing for a repeat of last year's massive demonstrations by Brazilians angered by the high cost of building stadiums instead of improving deficient public services.
    Various activist groups railing for increased social programs have gone on the record, saying they plan to continue protesting during the World Cup.
    Sao Paulo hosts the World Cup opener on June 12.
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