Hundreds of Brazilian Families Evicted for World Cup Projects That Were Never Even Finished
For many Brazilians hosting the World Cup has been a less than ideal way for the country to spend its money. In the run-up to the Cup, protests raged across the country and have continued, on a smaller scale, throughout the competition. The thinking goes for World Cup hosts, like Brazil, and South Africa before it, that the economic and marketing potential of playing host is a form of national progress that requires sacrifices. Whether or not the ends justify the means, or if the sacrifices are spread evenly, for some 200 families in host city of Recife, the World Cup certainly seems like a boondoggle they’re paying for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHkx7mnc9n8
CNN has the story of more than 200 families who were forcibly evicted from their homes so a new expressway could help ferry passengers, and the games could go on. It’s a bitter pill to swallow under any circumstance, but even more so, as CNN reports, because the expressway was never even finished. Here’s more from CNN:
The original plan was to double a bus terminal in size and build the road to make it easier for fans to get to the Recife stadium. The road and the expansion of the bus terminal were part of a mobility project for the World Cup. Construction hasn’t started and many of those who were evicted are angry and frustrated… Paula Oliveira and Marcus Andre Dos Santos lost their property… „It is like another slap in the face,” Oliveira said. “We are poor and the government can do what they want with us. We are humans and we were stripped of our rights. And look: they left this mess.“