Caitlin Dewey 5:46 PM ET
Brazil's largest protests in more than 20 years drew more than 100,000 demonstrators in several cities.
A demonstrator holds a Brazilian flag in front of a burning barricade during a protest in Rio de Janeiro. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Brazil is experiencing its largest protests in more than 20 years, as
more than 200,000 demonstrators take to the streets of Sao Paulo,
Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and four other major cities to rally on a range
of social issues.
According to the Associated Press, the unrest
began last week
as a response to a 10-cent hike in public bus and subway fares that
kicked in on June 1. But as dozens of protesters have written on signs
and posted to social media since then, the movement is now “about more
than 20 cents” — it’s about Brazil’s poverty, tax burden, political
corruption, social services and a growing frustration with the expense
of big-budget events like the 2016 Olympics and the World Cup.
“We don’t need the World Cup,” reads
one popular protest photo that has been shared hundreds of times on social media. “We need money for hospitals and education.”
Thousands of people participate in a protest against rising public transport costs in Rio de Janeiro. (EPA/Marcelo Sayão)
That’s a common criticism of the growing pains in the world’s fifth-largest country, where violent crime and a
21 percent
poverty rate exist alongside outsized economic ambitions. Brazil’s
growing economy has boosted its stature, drawing in massive
international events. At the same time, those spectacles can come with a
profound (some say unjustified) price tag. The Olympics alone are
expected to cost the Brazilian government at least $14.4 billion,
according to
its own estimates. That doesn’t factor in social costs like the
skyrocketing price of real estate in Rio de Janeiro, which Amnesty International says has displaced some impoverished citizens of the city’s slums.
Police fire rubber bullets at demonstrators in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine)
Brazil, of course, isn’t the only country at an uncomfortable,
developmental crossroads. Turkey has suffered waves of violent mass
protests over the last three weeks,
initially sparked by
construction in an Istanbul park. Protesters in both countries have
promised solidarity on social media — maybe because they share a common
enemy. Reuters’
Margarita Noriega tweeted that demonstrators in both countries have been sprayed with a tear gas manufactured in Brazil.
A cloud of teargas engulfs students protesting in Sao Paulo on June 17. (Miguel Schincariol/AFP)
Also as in Turkey, a photo has emerged showing heavily armored riot
police using pepper spray on a young woman, who clearly poses no threat
to them. This photo below, from Rio de Janeiro, has been circulated
widely, fueling perceptions that police are behaving with unnecessary
violence.
A military police pepper sprays a protester during a demonstration in Rio de Janeiro. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
But, as often happens during massive demonstrations that take over
public spaces, some protesters have gone too far, as well. A photo of a
protester standing before vandalized ATMs in a Rio bank may help explain
why some police may see the demonstrations as dangerous – an impression
that, in such protests elsewhere, has sometimes extended to onlookers,
as well.
A protester passes vandalized cash machines at a bank during a demonstration in Rio de Janeiro. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
As the week goes on, it’s not clear how protesters and police will
shape one another’s behavior. We’ll be watching events closely, so do
check back.
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