strikes

Brazil’s football frenzy drowns out World Cup critics

Anadolu Agency

SÃO PAULO – Exactly who brought football to Brazil and precisely when they did it is still a moot point.

Some say it was Charles Miller, the son of a British railway worker who was building train lines in São Paulo, and others point to Thomas Donohue, a dye worker from Busby in Scotland, who sowed the soccer seed in Rio de Janeiro – both sometime around the late 1890s.

However the sport made the 9,000km leap from Britain, some 120 years later Brazil has earned the title of O País do Futebol – the Land of Football – and deservedly so.

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Brazil finally gets into World Cup spirit

BBC Russian – translation

SÃO PAULO – Officials in Brazil likely breathed a big sigh of relief last night after the World Cup host nation won their first match: the day went off logistically pretty much without a hitch and Brazil largely appeared to be brimming with excitement and warming to the event.

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Brazil braces for World Cup opener

Anadolu Agency

SÃO PAULO – With just a day to go, São Paulo is bracing itself for Thursday’s World Cup opening ceremony and first match of the tournament between hosts Brazil and Croatia.

The 25-minute opening ceremony will showcase the host nation’s “treasures: nature, people, football,” its Belgian artistic director Daphne Cornez was quoted by local media as saying.

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Brazil metro strike protest clashes with police

Anadolu Agency

SÃO PAULO – Police in São Paulo clashed with protesters and striking metro (subway) workers on Monday, just three days before the World Cup kicks off in the city.

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds, some of whom were blocking access to the Ana Rosa metro station. At least 13 people were detained.

São Paulo’s metro workers have been on strike for five consecutive days, and are threatening to continue their walkout until Thursday’s World Cup opening match.

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Protesters urge general strike for World Cup opener

SÃO PAULO – Saturday’s anti-World Cup protest in São Paulo, the latest to be held under the #nãovaitercopa (“There Won’t Be A World Cup”) banner, might not have had the crowds of Thursday’s march led by the Homeless Workers’ Movement (MTST), but it seemed to herald a change in tactics for the group and other protest movements: coordinating calls with the public sector for a general strike to disrupt the event and pressure the government.

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World Cup protests, strikes held across Brazil

Anadolu Agency

SÃO PAULO – A string of protests against the World Cup and strikes by teachers, military police and other public workers across Brazil have brought thousands of people onto the streets on Thursday.

Protests were held in multiple locations in and around São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, where police said around 4,000 people had taken part in the early demonstrations, most of which were organised by the Homeless Workers’ Movement (MTST) and affiliated groups.

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