Protests in Brazil and Their Repression
Santiago Navarro F. and Translated by Miriam Taylor, Truthout | Report
Trained according to US military doctrine, Brazil's military police, an inheritance from the dictatorships of the 1960s, have been intensely repressing protesters in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Since the beginning of this year, the principal streets of São Paulo, one of the biggest cities in the world, have been taken over by hundreds of protesters demanding a return to zero-cost public transportation. This action was taken due to a 17 percent rise in the cost of fares.
In the middle of 2013, thousands of protesters took to the streets after the first price hike of 20 cents (in Brazilian reals), protesting both the hike and the poor quality of public transportation. During that same time, the issue of excessive government expenditures prior to the 2014 World Cup and the Olympic Games planned for 2016 was emerging.
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The first protest was attended by more than 20,000 people. (Photo: Santiago Navarro F.)
During 2014 Christmas festivities, the government of São Paulo announced an increase in the cost of public transportation from 3 to 3.5 Brazilian reals. The same thing happened in 17 of the 27 state capitals of Brazil, with hikes ranging from 2.7 to 20.9 percent.
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