WORLD CUP WOES
Altijd Wat
May 2014
00:10
No World Cup, no World Cup, no World Cup,
not in our country!
00:12
The money should go to healthcare
and education.
00:18
No World Cup, no World Cup, no World Cup,
not in our country!
00:21
We, the people,
have nothing to gain from this spectacle.
00:26
It's the politicians, entrepreneurs
and companies who benefit.
00:32
Maracanã Stadium is over there.
00:36
I'm already preparing for the World Cup.
00:41
This is really meant
to intimidate the inhabitants.
00:44
It's really not necessary
to demolish the houses...
00:48
...before everyone has left or
been properly compensated.
00:53
The real reason...
00:57
...for the people of Pico de Santa
Marta being threatened like this...
01:02
...is the World Cup, and the Olympics
and other events.
01:08
VO
The whole of Rio de Janeiro is gearing up for two of the world's biggest sporting events. But there's a dark side. Around the city, people are being evicted from slums like these. It's an attempt to hide poverty from view while the eyes of the world are on Brazil for the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games.
01:29
As it gets closer, more and more people
are arriving...
INSERT:
Vitor Lira
Local Resident
01:34
...and the favela
Is becoming a tourist attraction.
01:38
Every day hundreds of people
come to visit Pico de Santa Marta...
01:43
...to take pictures. The highest point
Is the Santa Marta viewpoint.
01:55
VO
Vitor Lira was born and raised in this favela. There are around 1,000 of them in Rio. Some are located within the city itself: a thorn in the side of the government with two major sporting events coming up. The favela Santa Marta is one of the few featured in the guidebooks without mentioning crime or poverty, thanks to its role in one of Michael Jackson's music videos.
02:33
Further down the line
02:36
it is still the same.
Nothing has been done on infrastructure.
02:41
VO
There's a 788-step climb to Vitor's house. His family have lived at the top of Mount Pico for five generations. This once destitute area has now become hot property, thanks to the fabulous views and the arrival of hordes of tourists. Consequently, Vitor and his neighbours have to move. According to the government, this is because rain causes mudslides, which pose a danger to the community. Vitor, however, is yet to experience one.
03:11
Is this a high risk area? That is just
made up by the municipality and the government.
03:17
As a resident, I can see that they think
it is an area for the rich .
03:22
Because you will hardly ever find
a view like this.
03:29
VO
Today, Brazil is the stage for the FIFA World Cup - a dream come true, you might think. Brazil is football; a passion for the game can be felt on every street corner. Young, old, men, women, children - whoever can kick a ball. But in spite of this, protests are more widespread than joy.
03:58
I'm sorry, Neymar...
04:01
this World Cup, I will not be cheering for you.
04:05
I'm tired of seeing our people suffer
04:09
all the time
04:11
on television programs.
04:14
While FIFA looks out for the sponsors,
04:18
we are governed by crooks.
04:21
The outrage you see here
runs throughout the country...
INSERT:
Eron Logan Melo
Activist 'Batman'
04:27
...and here in Rio, a fierce debate is raging.
04:30
It's all about the cost
of the World Cup .
04:32
30 billion real is being invested
in the World Cup...
04:37
...and 85 % of it is public money.
Our money.
04:42
VO
One of many demonstrations against the World Cup was in the Jacarezinho slum. Romario has lived here all his life. It is one of the most dangerous favelas in Rio, and right next to the giant, refurbished Maracana football stadium. The renovation project cost 500 million dollars, while the residents here still suffer from a lack of basic facilities.
05:08
The government would rather invest in an event like this
than in its own people.
05:14
We still have problems with water,
electricity and sanitation.
05:20
So the people came to protest
against the government and FIFA.
05:26
People are suffering here. It's absurd.
05:31
VO
Eron Logan Melo is famous throughout Brazil as 'Batman', thanks to his frontline activism against the World Cup. He is protesting to support people he says have been forced from their homes to make way for the football tournament.
05:47
Rio is known for
Copacabana and the statue of Christ...
05:54
but they're tourist cosmetics.
05:56
This is the true face of Rio.
Eighty percent of Rio is like this.
06:02
These are favelas. The parts the Government
doesn't want people to see.
06:06
This is the real Brazil.
This is the real Rio.
06:11
That's where the attention ought to be.
06:15
VO
More than 25% of all Brazilians live in favelas. Economic expansion has created a burgeoning middle class, but what does that mean when the average worker still earns less than 2 dollars per hour? The difference between the rich and the poor here is huge. Despite being the sixth largest economy in the world, Brazil officially remains a third world country...
06:38
We are not real champions
06:42
if we spend 10 billion
06:45
organizing the World Cup...
06:49
VO
And it is not just the country's poorest who are dissatisfied with the World Cup; there is growing discontent in all tranches of the population. One familiar voice of dissent is Edu Krieger. Songwriter for the world-famous Brazilian singer Maria Rita, he never expected his protest song to be such a big hit...
07:08
I just wanted to express my opinion...
INSERT:
Edu Krieger
Singer/Songwriter
07:11
...regarding the organization
of the event.
07:14
I was surprised
that it became such a big hit.
07:17
In less than a month we've already had
more than a million views.
07:21
It clearly touches people.
07:23
What I criticize in the song...
07:28
...is the way public money
is being spent...
07:32
...on an event which benefits
FIFA more than anyone.
07:36
FIFA is already worth billions,
and we are a poor country.
07:39
We lack good provision of
healthcare and education.
07:44
That's more important than organizing
a huge party with public money.
07:51
We have nice big stadiums...
07:54
...while our schools and hospitals rot away.
08:00
We want subways, trains,
buses, hospitals...
08:03
We are against spending
on the World Cup.
08:07
That money should be spent
on social and public services.
08:14
VO
Just before the start of the tournament, disquiet amongst Brazilians is at its height. There are protests almost every day.
08:20
No World Cup, no World Cup, no World Cup,
not in our country!
08:24
VO
The main point of criticism is the exorbitant cost when public facilities remain inadequate. Healthcare is just one example. 70 % of Brazilians have no health insurance and access only to public hospitals, where the quality of care is often poor, and for which there are lengthy waiting lists. The government and FIFA, meanwhile, continue to stress the benefits the World Cup will bring.
08:50
How will the people benefit from
the big events taking place here?
09:00
You mean the people,
or the city or town?
09:03
The residents, the people themselves.
INSERT:
Pierre Batista
Councillor
09:06
The people can take advantage of them.
Wherever these events take place...
09:12
people benefit
from everything that is done.
09:17
We want hospitals!
No to FIFA!
09:22
VO
It's not quite clear what benefits the councillor is referring to, so we must return to Batman. In everyday life, the 32-year old activist is a dental technician.
09:34
Hello.
09:37
VO
Since last year, he has spent all his spare time demonstrating.
09:41
My mother broke her arm.
INSERT:
Eron Logan Melo
Activist 'Batman'
09:44
Neither the family clinic nor the
hospital had any orthopedic equipment.
09:50
We had to go miles away,
to a different hospital.
09:54
My mother had to go all the way there
with her broken arm.
09:58
We have to show those areas of Brazil
that are lacking in everything.
10:02
A Brazil where the government
is taking advantage of its people...
10:06
...and giving nothing in return.
10:09
Why do you take to the streets as Batman?
10:13
It's a ploy.
10:15
When I decided to go
and demonstrate...
10:19
...I thought: 'I do not want to be
one of the many.
10:22
I want to stand out and make a difference.'
10:25
I can make a difference,
I know I can.
10:28
I thought: 'if I put on regular clothes,
no one will notice.'
10:33
I needed to use a symbol
that would inspire others.
10:51
Does the mask protect you
from police brutality?
10:55
This one doesn't.
But I'm working on others...
10:58
...which are firmer,
just to protect me.
11:03
Do you expect police brutality?
11:06
You need to be prepared for anything
in these demonstrations.
11:10
I haven't encountered it yet,
but you can't rule it out.
11:16
It may happen,
so you need to protect yourself.
11:20
I'm curious to peek in.
11:23
VO
And there's another grand sporting event on the horizon for Rio: The Olympics. Theresa Williamson is a city planner working with the favelas.
11:35
Can I look inside?
11:38
VO
On land bordering the Olympic park is the Vila Autodromo. This favela has occupied the site for decades. The question is: how long it will remain? The authorities say the settlement stands in the way of a safe route to the park, and so will have to go. But according to Theresa, this is not the whole truth...
11:58
Well, this particular favela is the one that's in the bull's eye of the Olympics
INSERT:
Theresa Williamson
City Planner
12:04
because it's right next to the future Olympic site.
12:08
And even though it's a quiet, peaceful community,
and it's been around for forty-odd years...
12:13
...and it has legal rights to the land,
12:15
the fact that it's a favela has gotten in the way of
12:19
the image that the city wants to project for these events.
12:23
And also, the Olympic site will later become used for
luxury development.
12:33
SMH is the 'municipal housing secretariat'.
12:35
And they mark the houses when they're going to be evicted or demolished.
12:42
This is frequent all over the city
wherever there have been demolitions.
12:46
More recently, they've stopped doing it because of pressure:
it was seen as a Nazi thing...
12:51
like they did in Holocaust Germany. They would come and mark houses.
12:55
And they got a very bad reputation,
12:57
because they would come in during the day - sometimes people
would be off at work -
13:02
they'd come home from work and their house would be marked for demolition.
13:06
VO
In Rio, a total of 21,000 families have been forced to leave their homes in recent years.
Here in the Vila Autodromo, 100 families still refuse to move to replacement housing offered by the government.
13:21
Every day we have to put up with...
13:25
...the violent tremors and noise
of their heavy machinery.
13:29
How about you?
Will you be leaving or not?
13:35
We followed the procedure
set out by the municipality.
13:39
But my partner and I
are about to break up.
13:43
I have my children
and she has her children.
13:47
The municipality is practically forcing us
to stay together.
13:53
They will not give me a home
for me and my children...
13:58
...and a separate home for her.
14:01
VO
Other residents refuse to be interviewed about the situation, as they are afraid the government will use it against them.
14:09
Do you see this community as a victim of the sporting events?
14:12
Oh, absolutely.
INSERT:
Theresa Williamson
City Planner
14:14
If it weren't for the sporting events, this tranquil community would still be standing.
14:19
They would have a day-care centre
which they started saving for years ago...
14:23
...but they had to stop building because of all of the fights and battles around evictions.
14:30
VO
We return to Santa Marta, where Vitor lives. In 2008, it was one of the first favelas to undergo a government clean-up, with military police deployed onto the streets. While in many favelas the drug mafia reigns, here the police are in control.
14:48
Before the 'pacification' campaign
you couldn't come here .
INSERT
Gabriel Cavalcante
Military Police Officer
14:52
Residents and visitors alike
would be unsafe.
14:58
There were drug dealers, criminals,
firearms.
15:03
There could be a gunshot at any moment.
15:08
What was the hardest part
of the process?
15:13
One of the main hurdles...
15:18
..was gaining the trust
of the local people.
15:22
But we succeeded in doing that.
15:27
We have the support of the residents.
15:30
VO
There are now 250 such areas where military police have been sent in. In general, crime rates have fallen. Nevertheless, the residents are angry. A long history of corruption has fomented widespread distrust of the Rio police.
15:47
One of my biggest criticisms
is the unregulated nature of it all.
INSERT:
Vitor Lira
Local Resident
15:51
Abuses of power and human rights violations...
15:55
...were committed by members
of the military and regular police.
16:01
There was a lot of authoritarianism, disorder,
infringement of rights.
16:07
They killed the social life...
16:10
...and banned cultural activities.
16:14
VO
Santa Marta may well have become safer - the arrival of the military police has made it something of a sanctuary...
But an event that should be a party has become a burden here in Brazil.
This lone Netherlands supporter might be one of the few people to profit from the event.
16:44
Wow, what a view.
16:46
There is the Maracanã Stadium.
INSERT:
'Babal da Maguira'
Local Resident
16:50
I'm already preparing for the World Cup.
16:52
This is first class up here.
That's what I'm going to make it.
16:57
We're high in the sky.
16:59
What are you doing here? And for whom?
17:01
I'm going to build.
17:03
So during the World Cup
we will have a better view.
17:07
For whom? Who's going to rent this?
17:10
Reporters... People making reports.
17:14
There is a demand
and I'm going to meet it.
17:17
Are you looking forward to the World Cup?
Very much.
17:21
Not just for me,
but for the whole community.
17:26
Many people are unhappy.
There are lots of protests.
17:32
Do you understand these people?
17:34
Yes I do. I was born here.
17:41
I can see why.
It is a political problem.
17:46
The 'haves' against the 'have-nots'.
17:49
Life is worth more
than a goal.
17:52
Where are the improvements?
17:55
It was bad, Felipão
17:58
Our homeland didn't flourish.