Many Brazilians Not Thrilled with World Cup

As FiFA fever grips the world and the collective eyes and ears of football fans everywhere are tuned to the World Cup competition in Brazil, we find that Brazilians aren’t all that thrilled with the way things are going in their own country.

In fact, a new Pew Research study says the national mood in Brazil is downright grim. Over 70 percent of Brazilians say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going.

It’s not hard to see why. More than a million people have taken to the streets in major cities across the country this past year to protest corruption, rising inflation and a lack of government investment in public services like education, healthcare and public transportation.

What’s at the root of this unrest? Pew says just over 60 percent of Brazilians think hosting FIFA’s World Cup competition is a bad thing for Brazilians because it takes money away from schools, healthcare and other public services. Just over one-third think the World Cup will create more jobs and help the economy.

Even though Brazil hasn’t hosted the World Cup since 1950 and, frankly, it’s kind of a big deal for football fans, there is skepticism in the country about the international benefit of hosting this prestigious sporting event. Nearly 40 percent say it will hurt Brazil’s image around the world, while an almost equal amount say it will help. The rest don’t think it will have an impact either way.

Apparently it hasn’t helped Brazil’s image that much. Pew followed up with another study last week that shows about three-fourths of Brazilians think they should be more respected by the global community, but just over half of the people in 37 countries interviewed have a favorable opinion of the country. Brazil’s biggest boosters are its Latin American neighbors.

Brazilians are most concerned about rising prices. About 85 percent say high prices are a major problem and around two-thirds think lack of employment opportunities and income inequality are also big problems.

Will a successful World Cup competition reverse the growing unrest in Brazil? Stay tuned. For more on Brazil, check it out in our Countries section.