Road blocks and marches hit Brazilian cities on Thursday as disparate groups criticized spending on the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament and sought to revive a call for better public services that swept the country last June.
In a 'dialogue without ties' at the World Bank President Jose Mujica said that Uruguay is a 'frontier country' which history did not want it to belong to any of the two big neighbors (Argentina and Brazil) so that the Atlantic ocean would not be left to an only country.
Brazil forecasts that the estimated 3.7 million people expected to visit during the World Cup, including Brazilian and foreign tourists, will boost the country's economy to the tune of 3.03bn. dollars.
President Dilma Rousseff repeated Tuesday that Brazil is a democratic country and that its government guarantees the right to peaceful protest during the World Cup soccer competition, which begins June 12. However protests must not harm the Cup events in any way.
Rio de Janeiro bus drivers on Tuesday began a 48-hour strike that left tens of thousands of people without transportation and caused huge problems in Brazil's second-largest city. Participation in the strike was greater than in the 24-hour effort staged last Thursday when on the streets of Rio scarcely a single bus was to be seen.
The Brazilian government is counting on a strong presence from world leaders during the football World Cup, which kicks off on June 12. Cristina Fernández, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US vice-president Joe Biden are among the dignitaries expected to attend.
Brazil began deploying over the weekend some 30,000 troops to secure its borders as it prepares to host the World Cup that kicks off next month. The operation involving the army, navy and air force will extend over the 16,900-kilometer frontier separating the South American giant from its 10 neighbors.
Brazil's Pelé, the legendary attacker believes that his country's national team has the ideal opportunity to exorcise the demons of their 2-1 infamous loss to Uruguay at the Maracana 64 years ago, more precisely 16 July 1950.
Brazilian vehicle production rose 1.6% last month compared with March, but was down 21.4% from the level of April 2013, the Anfavea auto industry association said Friday. Last month saw 277,100 cars, trucks, SUVs and buses roll off assembly lines in Brazil, significantly short of the 352,400 vehicles produced by Latin America's largest economy in April 2013.
Two of Brazil's major cities which will be hosting matches of the World Cup in 35 days time, were in chaos on Thursday because of protests from the Landless Peasants and Homeless Workers in Sao Paulo and a bus drivers' strike in Rio do Janeiro.