SAO PAULO: Protesters disgusted at the price tag of the World Cup called for demonstrations across Brazil yesterday, trying to regain the momentum that disrupted the Confederations Cup a
year ago.
Ongoing strikes by police and teachers and the threat of a nationwide strike by federal police also raised fears of chaos with 28 days to go until the World Cup.
In business hub Sao Paulo, about 5,000 members of the Homeless Workers’ Movement (MTST) set fire to car tyres and marched towards the Corinthians Arena stadium, which will host the World Cup opening match between Brazil and Croatia on June 12.
Around 200 metalworkers also held a protest against unemployment outside a factory in the south of the city.
Several hundred demonstrators blocked a nearby street demanding housing, and hundreds of others barricaded a road leading from the Osasco suburb into the city, Globo TV reported.
Several movements took to social media calling for protests in at least 10 of the 12 World Cup host cities on issues ranging from poverty to concerns over human rights. One of the groups calling for protests was the Free Pass Movement (MPL), a student group whose demand for free public transport helped spark million-strong street protests last year that embarrassed Brazil during the Confederations Cup, a World Cup warm-up tournament.
The movement said it hoped to gather 15,000 people in the streets of Sao Paulo. AFP
