For the past three years, winters in Brazil have been marked by major events. Around this time in 2014 the country hosted the World Cup, a tournament that ended in bitter disappointment for this football-mad nation of 200 million.

Last year, protests against the now suspended president Dilma Rousseff spread all over the nation, in what became the beginning of one of the biggest ever political crisis to hit these shores.

And now the Olympics — the first ever to be held on South American soil. At the time of writing there are only three days left of competition.

With the world‘s attention soon to turn away from Brazil, people here are afraid of what’s to come. The economy is in the gutter, unemployment stands at a staggering 11,2%, and violent crime is on the rise. The bill for playing host to the World Cup ($7 billion) and the Summer Olympics ($11 billion) in a space of two years is something Brazilians will have to live with for a very long time.

Share this Story

A country of contrasts....

September 22nd, 2016

September 22^nd, 2016