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In the days since, anti-government feeling has spread through Brazil and last night, the rest of the country joined the protest. In Salvador, 3,000 people took to the streets. In Belém, 10,000. In Porto Alegre, another 10,000. In Brasilia, the country’s capital, they marched to Parliament and danced on the rooftop. In Rio de Janeiro, 100,000 people marched. A small group attacked the assembly offices and set them on fire. The rest of the march tried to stop them and couldn’t. Apart from that little hiccup, the march was mostly peaceful.Overall, just under a quarter of a million people took to the streets of Brazil yesterday for peaceful protests.In Sao Paulo, where it all began, the most popular chant is "No violence!" And after four previous marches were spoiled by tear gas and rubber bullets, the police seem to have finally understood that this uprising won’t be quashed by their authority.
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The World Cup is set to hit Brazil next year, and so far it’s cost more money than the competitions in South Africa, China and Germany put together. They’re building stadiums out in the middle of the country, where there's never even been a football culture. And the renovations to the Mané Garrincha stadium in Brasilia make it the most expensive football stadium in the world.
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