In the midst of the Confederations Cup in Brazil, the biggest social unrest was unfolding in major cities across the South American country that will host the 2014 World Cup.
The protests started off as demonstrations against high transport fares but quickly metamorphosed as a revolt against the Government’s economic policies.
19-year-old Marcelo Hotimsky led the initial protest with his small ‘Free Fare Movement’. Initially, no one took the movement seriously but when more students and political party activists joined, the protests spread across Sao Paulo to Rio and other cities attracting over one million protesters.
Marcelo, who is a philosophy student, has organized previous protests advocating for free fairs in Brazil’s public transport. What made this particular protest blow up was because the government increased the transport fares just before the tournament.
Marcelo told New York Times that the protests were an expression of frustration.
“There are serious issues about mobility and life in the city,” he said.
The Brazilian President averted the crisis by responding to the demonstrators’ demands by promising to look into the issue of public transport.
Marcelo was invited by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to discuss transportation policy. From the streets to the President’s office – how is that for a moving up!
Chi
October 11, 2011 at 8:59 am
I love it…First time I went there, the portions worried me but after I ate I got soo full 🙂 ….NYUMMY!!!
itaia
December 31, 2013 at 4:51 am
12 million Brazilians have some ancestry from Christian Arabs from Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, who migrated to Brazil between 1880 and 1910. The Marcus Hotimsky operation is Isreal’s operation to destabilize the sympathetic attidute of Brazil’s government towards the remaining Christian Arabs in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine,