For many of Brazil’s residents, the battles between World Cup teams aren’t nearly as important as the battle to keep their homes, or to protest free from the threat of violence.
Press Room and Dave Zirin
Standing outside the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Nation sports correspondent Dave Zirin described how he, as well as hundreds of protesters and tourists, were tear gassed just blocks away yesterday. He watched with his cameraman as police prepared to take down Brazilians marching against FIFA’s upheaval of their society. Nearby tourists were rooting for the police, but that didn’t last. “A headwind blew the tear gas onto the tourists,” Zirin told Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman, “sending 200 tourists scattering.” Zirin himself was also hit, and so couldn’t see the police officer who fired a live round into the crowd. In his appearance on Democracy Now!, Zirin also discusses Brazilians who have been uprooted from their favela homes at gunpoint to make room for World Cup development. —Hannah Harris Green
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Dave ZirinTwitterDave Zirin is the sports editor at The Nation. He is the author of 11 books on the politics of sports. He is also the coproducer and writer of the new documentary Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL.