Blame it on Rio

Brazil's politicians may have scored an own goal, as the fans are in a frenzy;

It was an apparently innocuous R$0.20 rise in the cost of a bus ticket in São Paulo that sparked mass protests that have since swept through at least twelve Brazilian states. On Monday, an estimated 200,000 people took to the streets in São Paulo and Rio alone, in protests larger than any witnessed in Brazil since those against President Fernando Collor in 1992.

The Movimento Passe Livre (Free Fare Movement) and its sympathizers continue to call for the increase to be reversed and for free public transport to be implemented, which has been achieved in some cities and discussions have progressed in others.

Now however, the protests have taken a much wider form, allowing Brazilians to vent their anger and frustration at the state of the country, from the country’s multi-billion-dollar hosting of the World Cup and poor public services, particularly health and education, to rampant political corruption and police brutality.

Brazil is also hosting the 2016 Olympics.  The people seem to have a different opinion of the benefits of spending billions to accomplish that too.