

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.


Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.

Crowding the streets, protesters waved Brazilian flags, danced and chanted slogans such as "The people have awakened" and "Pardon the inconvenience, Brazil is changing," Reuters reports.
Chaos reigned in some corners as police countered a number of the demonstrations with brute force. In Rio de Janiero, crowds swelled to roughly 100,000 people and police used tear gas, pepper spray and, as evidenced by an video posted on Brazil's Extra 15, live rounds to disperse them.
In the political capital of Brasilia, demonstrators scaled the roof of Brazil's Congress building before storming the interior.
And in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, over 20,000 protesters rallied outside of the Confederations Cup football tournament in the second day of protests against the event.
Other protests were reported in Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Vitoria, Fortaleza, Recife, Belem and Salvador.
Though the 'back-breaking piece of straw,' as Nation editor Dave Zirin writes, that sparked the protests was a spike in transportation fares, the protests are largely against the billions of public funds being invested in tourist infrastructure and events such as the upcoming 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics while public services and the population continue to suffer.
According to government estimates, hosting the 2014 World Cup will cost the country--where almost one-fifth of the country lives in poverty--approximately $14.5bn. Some tickets are expected to cost more than the country's minimum wage of $300.
"For many years the government has been feeding corruption. People are demonstrating against the system," said Graciela Cacador who was protesting in Sao Paulo. "They spent billions of dollars building stadiums and nothing on education and health."
Thus far, the demonstrations have spread to over 100 towns and cities despite mass police crackdowns. According to AP, more protests are being planned on social media sites for Tuesday in Sao Paulo and Brasilia.

Rio de Janiero:

This short video shows the scale of the demonstration in Rio de Janiero.
And this video, posted on Brazil's news site Extra 15, reveals police shooting live rounds at protesters.
Brasilia:


Belo Horizonte:

Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |

Crowding the streets, protesters waved Brazilian flags, danced and chanted slogans such as "The people have awakened" and "Pardon the inconvenience, Brazil is changing," Reuters reports.
Chaos reigned in some corners as police countered a number of the demonstrations with brute force. In Rio de Janiero, crowds swelled to roughly 100,000 people and police used tear gas, pepper spray and, as evidenced by an video posted on Brazil's Extra 15, live rounds to disperse them.
In the political capital of Brasilia, demonstrators scaled the roof of Brazil's Congress building before storming the interior.
And in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, over 20,000 protesters rallied outside of the Confederations Cup football tournament in the second day of protests against the event.
Other protests were reported in Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Vitoria, Fortaleza, Recife, Belem and Salvador.
Though the 'back-breaking piece of straw,' as Nation editor Dave Zirin writes, that sparked the protests was a spike in transportation fares, the protests are largely against the billions of public funds being invested in tourist infrastructure and events such as the upcoming 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics while public services and the population continue to suffer.
According to government estimates, hosting the 2014 World Cup will cost the country--where almost one-fifth of the country lives in poverty--approximately $14.5bn. Some tickets are expected to cost more than the country's minimum wage of $300.
"For many years the government has been feeding corruption. People are demonstrating against the system," said Graciela Cacador who was protesting in Sao Paulo. "They spent billions of dollars building stadiums and nothing on education and health."
Thus far, the demonstrations have spread to over 100 towns and cities despite mass police crackdowns. According to AP, more protests are being planned on social media sites for Tuesday in Sao Paulo and Brasilia.

Rio de Janiero:

This short video shows the scale of the demonstration in Rio de Janiero.
And this video, posted on Brazil's news site Extra 15, reveals police shooting live rounds at protesters.
Brasilia:


Belo Horizonte:


Crowding the streets, protesters waved Brazilian flags, danced and chanted slogans such as "The people have awakened" and "Pardon the inconvenience, Brazil is changing," Reuters reports.
Chaos reigned in some corners as police countered a number of the demonstrations with brute force. In Rio de Janiero, crowds swelled to roughly 100,000 people and police used tear gas, pepper spray and, as evidenced by an video posted on Brazil's Extra 15, live rounds to disperse them.
In the political capital of Brasilia, demonstrators scaled the roof of Brazil's Congress building before storming the interior.
And in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, over 20,000 protesters rallied outside of the Confederations Cup football tournament in the second day of protests against the event.
Other protests were reported in Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Vitoria, Fortaleza, Recife, Belem and Salvador.
Though the 'back-breaking piece of straw,' as Nation editor Dave Zirin writes, that sparked the protests was a spike in transportation fares, the protests are largely against the billions of public funds being invested in tourist infrastructure and events such as the upcoming 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics while public services and the population continue to suffer.
According to government estimates, hosting the 2014 World Cup will cost the country--where almost one-fifth of the country lives in poverty--approximately $14.5bn. Some tickets are expected to cost more than the country's minimum wage of $300.
"For many years the government has been feeding corruption. People are demonstrating against the system," said Graciela Cacador who was protesting in Sao Paulo. "They spent billions of dollars building stadiums and nothing on education and health."
Thus far, the demonstrations have spread to over 100 towns and cities despite mass police crackdowns. According to AP, more protests are being planned on social media sites for Tuesday in Sao Paulo and Brasilia.

Rio de Janiero:

This short video shows the scale of the demonstration in Rio de Janiero.
And this video, posted on Brazil's news site Extra 15, reveals police shooting live rounds at protesters.
Brasilia:


Belo Horizonte:
