Latin America

Antonieta Rodriguês is a former resident of Campinho, a community located in Madureira, north of Rio de Janeiro City. The woman lost her home and is now engaging against the removals and the injustices arising from the construction works.

Under the justification that a huge aquarium would increase tourism, more than US$126.8 million were spent on the Acquário Ceará in Fortaleza. A questionable project for a city in which 43 percent of the inhabitants don't even have a sewage disposal system.

One question that concerns many Brazilians is about the true cost of the 2014 World Cup. The data gathered by the NGO PACS shows where investment money for the World Cup comes from and where it is going. It proofs how companies profit from billions of public money.

In this interview Jean Wyllys answers questions about the bill he introduced and that shall regulate the work of sex workers. He makes clear why prostitutes should have a minimum guaranteed salary.

On the night of June 25, 2013, at least 1,000 residents of the Rocinha slum, south of Rio de Janeiro, gathered to protest. They demanded the completion of all the sanitation work in their neighbourhood, instead of an expensive transportation system for tourists.

The rural community of São Lourenço in Recife was chosen as the place for the construction of a stadium and a real estate mega-project named World Cup Village. Hundreds of families were transferred without any alternatives or financial compensation.

One the most symbolic cases of Brazil's protest movements against relocation, was the resistance of Vila Autódromo. The historical fight of the community located in the west of Rio de Janeiro, enormously spread around the country.

The Brazilian Congress and the authorities approved numerous exceptions to important democratic rules in the last five years to favor private interests. It is good that the Brazilian people defend themselves against it. Even if it is to protect football.

According to the National Movement of the Popular Committees of the Cup 170,000 people are affected by evictions and lost their homes. Despite international standards for forced removals which are recognized in the Brazlian law, a majority of the affected will not be compensated adequately.

Brazilian athletes and activists choose sport trainings as a form of creative protest. They want to call attention to the dismal training conditions for the mega-event and they demonstrate: sport is more than a commercial spectacle.