FALL 2013
cost fifteen billion dollars, with a similar
expenditure expected for the 2016 Olympics. To make matters worse, no modern
Olympic host has managed to stick to its
preliminary budget – suggesting that current cost estimations may balloon even
further. The most extreme example of this
phenomenon is Beijing, which presented
a $1.6 billion budget to the International
Olympic Committee, yet eventually incurred costs of approximately forty billion
dollars. With these realities in mind, it is
easy to see how the population might wonder if the Brazilian government has forgotten about fundamental domestic concerns.
Moreover, these cost estimations loom
large over an ongoing teachers’ strike,
which is now entering its second month.
The teachers, who demand higher pay, are
only one part of a deeply troubled education system, which suffers from a massive
dichotomy between underfunded, ineffective public schools and expensive private
schools. This dichotomy only further cements the socioeconomic barrier between
the rich and poor in Brazil. A young boy
from the favelas – that is, the mountaintop shantytowns around Rio de Janeiro – is put at an extreme disadvantage
when compared to his middle and upper
class counterparts. Education is one of
the proven cornerstones of long-term economic growth, and yet Brazil – a nation
that has never fully bought into quality
universal education – has chosen to invest
in the unproven-at-best economic benefits of two consecutive sporting events.
The lack of funding for services, such
as education, is not the only sticking point
for the Brazilian populous. The process of
preparing for the World Cup and Olympics has involved major overhauls to infrastructure in cities such as Rio de Janeiro, ????????????????????????????I???e?)????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????)???????????????Q?????????????????()%9QI9Q%=90()????????????()???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????)????????????9?????????????????????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????????]????)????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????)??????L????? ???e??????????????)?????????????????????????????????????)%????????????????????????????)??????????? ???????????????M????????????????????????????????)????????????????]????
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