"Não vai ter Copa" / "There's not going to be a World Cup!" is the chant of the many Brazilians who are protesting about the upcoming international soccer event held in June in twelve different host cities around the country.  They are protesting because of the amount of money that the government is pouring into the stadiums (some of which will not be done in time . . . ) and infrastructure needed to host the hordes of tourists and soccer fans scheduled to arrive shortly instead of using federal money for much-needed programs and improvements in health care, education and general safety.  They are also protesting against the government and its widespread corruption in general as it is widely believed that the higher-ups are lining their pockets with some of the funds initially allocated for the World Cup.

Recent image gone viral on social networking sites reflecting a common feeling against the World Cup

Even though Belém is not a host city, we see the effects of the growing unrest and hype about the upcoming event everywhere.  Everyone is talking about it and the World Cup protests spur on additional strikes and protests in other public sectors.  Two weeks ago it was the public bus strike, last week it was a strike at the public university and in many states a police strike.  Brazilians are using their moment on the world stage to bring attention to the country's problems and to show that they are not going to stand for it.

No matter if Brazil ends up actually having the World Cup or not, it is an extremely interesting and exciting time to be in this country during such a period of growing change in attitudes and actions.

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