Intersections

摘要

Holding the World Cup in Brazil, football's spiritual home, sparked many fantasies of samba-infused spectacle. Those illusions were shattered last June when protests swept across the country during a warm-up tournament; a year on the discontent still simmers. The government's slum-clearing efforts have met violent resistance. In May demonstrators incensed by the billions being spent on stadiums and security set tyres alight in a new wave of protests. The sports minister has felt compelled to reassure visiting fans that they will find Brazil safer than Iraq.