A political earthquake has started to grumble underneath the streets of Brazil. Last week, there was considerable violence in Sao Paulo, where as many as 100 protesters were injured including several journalists during demonstrations against a bus fare hike. As is typical in cases of sudden bursts of widespread activism, it’s difficult to know in advance what event will catalyze a population already fed up with grievances. In the case of Turkey, it was an announcement to raze a park and build a mall. In Brazil, it is a hike in public transportation costs in a nation already frustrated with high inflation and rampant political corruption.
Today will be a very important test-case to see whether or not the unrest will escalate. While it appears the “authorities” are expected to exercise restraint during what may be as many as 20,000 protesters in Sao Paulo today, these situations are inherently volatile. It is particularly intense in Brazil after spectators at a soccer game this past weekend humiliated President Dilma Rousseff by booing him for more than a minute. From Bloomberg:
As many as 20,000 Brazilians are expected to march in Sao Paulo today in what organizers vow will be the biggest yet in a wave of protests to rock Latin America’s largest economy in little more than a week.
Authorities are pledging to keep riot police at bay to avoid a repeat of clashes June 13 that left dozens wounded when rubber bullets and tear gas were fired upon activists protesting an increase in bus fares.
The demonstrations have grown larger and spread across the country as discontent about inflation and the economy mount, fueling dissatisfaction with President Dilma Rousseff.
“An alarm has sounded,” Alexandre Barros, head of Brasilia-based political risk consulting firm Early Warning. “The average Brazilian doesn’t know what the government should do, but they feel their pockets being pinched.”
Soccer fans booed Rousseff for more than a minute as she was introduced in Brasilia at the June 15 opening of the two-week tournament, a warm-up to next year’s World Cup. The heckling intensified when Sepp Blatter, president of soccer’s governing body FIFA, admonished the crowd for not showing “respect.” A stern-faced Rousseff then cut short the moment with a single sentence declaring a start to the tournament.
The demonstrations in major Brazilian cities were started by a student group called the Free Fare Movement, which has advocated an end to bus fares since 2005. The marches have grown after television broadcasts of police battling activists and have since evolved into a catch-all for groups and individuals protesting everything from corruption and income inequality to environmental concerns and urban violence.
This is what happens when institutions hit peak corruption. Every country on earth is suffering from the same disease and the protests/unrest will only increase globally until a entirely new political and economic dynamic replaces the rotting carcass of the current one.
Full article here.
In Liberty,
Mike
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If Brazil blows up, I would expect Argentina to follow. Argentina is a chronic mess; I believe that they have defaulted on their sovereign debt more often than any other country.
I don’t think you’re wrong. But I would amplify the severity of an Argentine blow up.
Argentina’s suffering in the last 25 years at the hands of the international banking cabal has been unique: a First World nation in which people starved to death. At the implied direction of the banks and international agencies, government power was applied in inhuman ways.
There are blow ups that see the replacement of the ruling party, and there are blow ups that see the entire political class of all parties in prison, or worse. I think Brazil is ripe for the former, Argentina the latter.
Just a thought.