2013 Protests in Brazil
The 2013 protests in Brazil were significant public demonstrations that erupted in various cities due to widespread discontent with the government. Initially sparked by a rise in public transportation fares, these protests quickly expanded to address broader concerns, including the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup, government corruption, police brutality, and inadequate public services such as healthcare and education. Millions of people participated, with major cities like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo seeing the largest turnouts. While some protests remained peaceful, various incidents of violence occurred, resulting in injuries and fatalities, particularly in the favelas. The Brazilian government, led by President Dilma Rousseff, responded to the unrest by promising reforms in transportation and healthcare, including a commitment to allocate oil revenues to education. Despite these assurances, the government's response received mixed reactions from the public. The protests were notable not only for their scale but also for the diverse demographics of those involved, ranging from students to middle-class citizens, highlighting the widespread frustration with socio-economic issues in Brazil.
2013 Protests in Brazil
The 2013 protests in Brazil were public demonstrations in various Brazilian cities due to discontent with the Brazilian government. Millions of Brazilians, including students, residents of the slums, professionals, and members of the middle class, were involved in the protests. Demonstrators, some of whom turned to violence, first protested against a rise in public transportation prices and then rallied against other issues, including the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup and poor health and education services. Several people died in the protests, and many others were injured as well. The president of Brazil gave a speech in response to the protests, promising improvements.
Reasons for Protests
The 2013 protests in Brazil took place primarily in June and July of 2013 in dozens of Brazilian cities, including Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. However, protests began as early as August of 2012. That month, demonstrators in Natal took to the streets to protest a rise in bus ticket prices. The protesters, who were mostly students, succeeded in getting prices reduced. However, less than a year later, the Natal government raised prices again, and discord resumed.
Several demonstrations occurred elsewhere in the country. For example, in May of 2013, protests took place in Goiás. Demonstrators destroyed four buses, and police arrested twenty-four students. But like the protests in Natal the previous year, the demonstrators in Goiás achieved a reduction in public transportation prices.
Some of Brazil's largest cities, including Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, eventually saw a rise in public transportation prices as well. This sparked protests in those cities, only on a much larger scale. In Rio de Janeiro alone, the number of demonstrators was estimated to be anywhere from 300,000 to more than a million. The demonstrators most likely used social networks such as Facebook to organize the protests. For example, a profile on Facebook named AnonymousBrazil secured more than a million supporters.
In addition to protests in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (which drew about 110,000 demonstrators), approximately eighty other Brazilian cities also were the sites of protests. These cities included the capital city of Brasilia with roughly 30,000 demonstrators, Manaus with about 80,000, Recife with approximately 50,000, and Belo Horizonte and Salvador with roughly 20,000. The overall number of demonstrators was estimated at about two million.
Rising public transportation prices were not the only concern among protesters in these cities. Demonstrators also protested against the 2014 FIFA World Cup, corruption in politics, police brutality, and the poor state of public services, hospitals, and schools. The 2014 FIFA World Cup was an international soccer competition hosted by Brazil. Many of the protesters rallied against excessive government spending to organize the World Cup. These protesters felt the money should have been spent on public services instead of extravagant new stadiums for the World Cup. Others believed that Brazil was not ready to host the event. For example, just one year from the start of the World Cup, as many as half of the stadiums were not yet completed. Additionally, a new infrastructure was needed for the event. Rio de Janeiro was also chosen to host other large, expensive events, including the 2016 Olympic Games. Other demonstrators cried out against corruption among politicians and high taxes that citizens had to pay but felt did not benefit them.
Still other protesters, particularly those living in the favelas, or the slums adjacent to Brazil's largest cities, protested against poor health and education services, as well as allegations of police abuse. The 2010 census estimated that about 6 percent of all Brazilians resided in the favelas. Many of the demonstrators from the favelas protested against the lack of public hospitals and schools in the favelas.
Protests Turned Violent
Some of the protests throughout Brazil turned deadly. In June of 2013, violence broke out during the protests in Rio de Janeiro. Demonstrators set cars on fire, threw rocks, and tore down lampposts and security cameras. Riot police attempted to quell the huge crowd using teargas, percussion grenades, rubber bullets, and pepper spray. Other officers were on horseback or motorbikes and carried shotguns. Many people were injured in the protests. During one night alone, about forty people were injured in Rio de Janeiro, thirty-five people suffered injuries in Brasilia, and one person died in São Paulo.
Some of the most deadly events during the protests took place in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. In the favela of Nova Holanda, police and a group of drug dealers clashed, and eleven people died. The favela of Rocinha also experienced grave violence when a special forces battalion entered the favela. Nine people died and nine others were injured. Furthermore, about seven thousand children were affected by the event because schools shut down. Despite these instances of violence, the majority of the protests were peaceful.
President's Response
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff eventually responded to the protests in a speech. She called for a National Action Plan on Urban Mobility, which would deal with public transportation. She also addressed education, stating that all oil revenues would go toward education. Lastly, she announced that thousands of overseas doctors would be contracted to advance the nation's health system, or Sistema Único de Saúde. Despite President Rousseff's many promises, her words received mixed reviews.
Bibliography
Ramón, Paula. "Poor, Middle Class Unite in Brazil Protests." CNN. Cable News Network. 24 Jul. 2013. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/28/world/americas/brazil-protests-favelas/
dos Santos, Bruno Lima Patrício. "So What Is Really Going On in Brazil?" Generation Europa. Generation Europa. 12 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. http://generationeuropa.eu/?page‗id=1020
Watts, Jonathan. "Brazil Erupts in Protest: More Than a Million on the Streets." Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. 21 Jun. 2013. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/21/brazil-police-crowds-rio-protest