U.S. Embassy in Brazil: Americans Should Avoid Protests, Even Peaceful Demonstrations Can Turn Violent

More demonstrations planned for tomorrow as Brazil plays Uruguay in the Confederations Cup

Folha de Sao Paolo

Demonstrations in Brazil continue into a second week, and the U.S. embassy has issued another travel warning to Americans in Brazil:

The U.S. Embassy in Brasilia alerts U.S. citizens traveling to and residing in Brazil to continued protests in several cities throughout the country including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Recife, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Fortaleza, Salvador, and Manaus.  Protests have occurred throughout Brazil in the past week and more are planned for June 26. There have also been calls on social media for a series of strikes and protests throughout Brazil, which could potentially occur in the next week. 

U.S. citizens should avoid the protests and areas where large gatherings may occur. Even demonstrations or events intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. U.S. citizens in Brazil are urged to continue to monitor local news reports and to plan their activities accordingly. 

Safety first travelers, you can watch history on the hotel television!

Tomorrow's protests are set to come as Brazil plays Uruguay in the FIFA Confederations Cup, which began in Brazil on June 15, before protests started, and is set to finish with the finals match on Sunday. The Confederations Cup has also been used as an excuse to declare municipal holidays, asBelo Horizonte, for example, has done for tomorrow. Banks will be closed, and a local businessman, Alexandre "ADG", who runs a mechanic shop there, also says in this YouTube video (in Portuguese) titled "Fuck the businessman, soccer's where it's at" that other businesses have been told to close tomorrow or face fines.

FIFA, meanwhile, dismissed local media reports last week that it might be cancelling the tournament. Brazil won the right to host the 2014 World Cup in 2007. It was the only city in South America to bid on the tournament, which had to be held on the continent in 2014, but FIFA said it was a solid bid and Brazilians celebrated anyway. Demonstrations broke out earlier this month because of increases in the public bus fare (which have largely since been suspended or revoked), but protests have expanded nonetheless to include excessive government spending on World Cup-related infrastructure as well as corruption.

More Reason coverage on Brazil here.

Comments

[Irish]

Brazil won the right to host the 2014 World Cup in 2007. It was the only city in South America to bid on the tournament, which had to be held on the continent in 2014, but FIFA said it was a solid bid and Brazilians celebrated anyway.

This is why they don't get much sympathy from me. Most of the people now protesting probably celebrated when they got the World Cup. Then they got pissed that, shockingly enough, they were going to have to pay money for better facilities in order to host a world wide soccer tournament.

If these people had been protesting the World Cup bid that would be one thing. As it stands, they wanted something nice but don't want to pay for it.

[Hyperion]

That's far from the only thing that the Brazilians are protesting about. The media there are a lot like ours, full of shit and talking heads for the politicians in power. They want everyone to believe it's all about public transport ticket prices and the money being spent on world cup.

If the politicians hadn't stolen all of the tax money they collected from the citizens, they would have had the money to pay for it and not had to raise taxes for public transport to pay for it.

The protests are mostly directed towards corruption. The World Cup spending and the ticket prices were just what finally set them off.

I know some of the protestors, so I probably am better informed about it than most who are just seeing it on TV.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I keep hoping that Brazil will move in a libertarianish direction. It is not even close to being a free economy right now, but of the large potential superpowers out there, it is the closest to respecting free market economics and civil rights besides the US. I would like to have a country that is someone good on those issues in case the US falls.

[Hyperion]

I know quite a few very Libertarian leaning folks there. The problem is that most of the country, the voters are uneducated, uninformed, and think that the government should just magically create things out of thin air and give it to them. A lot like here...

I feel more free there than I do here, in many ways ... (eat shit, Tulpa). And I can guarantee you that the Brazilians will not put up with the police state type conditions that we have here. Just try putting up some yellow plastic barricade and telling the Brazilians that they can't take their beer outside of it. I would love to see them try it.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I know what you mean -- I am of course biased, but I find that the natural tendency in Latin America is generally to favor civil liberties relative to other regions. Latin America has never experienced the sort of warfare seen on the African or Eurasian continents. The repressive regimes of the region have not been as bad as comparable regimes elsewhere in Africa, Asia, or Eastern Europe. (Cuba is a possible, but dubious, exception.) Many of Latin America's constitutions were based on the US model, sometimes word-for-word. Latin American countries are generally open to immigration and to outsiders.

The main problem with Latin America IMO is that they have a weak concept of rule of law (the cops there are just terrible compared to cops here, as is the bureaucracy) and no understanding of economic freedom and its importance. My understanding is that Brazil is similar. Fix those things and I think that Ibero-America has a good deal of potential to get out of the third world.

[Irish]

I feel more free there than I do here, in many ways

I think part of that is because government simply isn't powerful enough to really screw with people.

I've noticed that in many relatively poor places. The government is horrible, corrupt and stifles economic activity, but there are quite a few aspects of life where they simply don't have enough power or money to intrude.

[Libertymike]

Have you ever read any posts from the Dollar Vigilante folks?

Several of them live in Mexico and they uniformly and unequivocally tell you that they are MUCH MORE FREE in Mexico than they would be here.

One of the biggest obstacles we face is the residual gleam in the eye many have for the USA, American exceptionalism and all of that crapola.

Let's face it, if you are a friend of liberty, your allegiance is to liberty, not the USA.

[Irish]

Let's face it, if you are a friend of liberty, your allegiance is to liberty, not the USA.

Exactly. I've made this argument to relatively libertarian friends of mine who still make the mistake of being Republicans. They really love talking about America being the land of the free and so forth, but at this point it's mostly nonsense.

They're also unthinkingly patriotic and love wrapping themselves in the flag. I think the Founders would actually find such behavior sickening. They were fighting for certain ideals and it disturbs me that a country that has by and large jettisoned all of those ideals still claims to be the same country they founded.

It's not the same country. It's a different country that occupies the same land mass. It would be like claiming Italy is exactly the same as the Roman Empire because Rome is still there.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

The US still has hope -- of all the countries I've traveled to, the US is the place where people "get" the concept of liberty at its most base level.

I far prefer Latin American culture in many respects, but the US' understanding of political ethics, as well as its work ethics, are attributes of the culture that I would love for Latin America as a whole to shamelessly rip off of y'all.

[Irish]

Do you currently live in Latin America? I know you've talked about moving to the US when you were younger.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Right now I live in the US. I lived in various parts of LA until I was ~26, and then on-off when I was in the USAF. I'm an actuary, and the biggest job markets for that job in Latin America are in Mexico City and Buenos Aires -- both of which are in countries not well known for their business friendliness.

[Cytotoxic]

still make the mistake of being Republicans.

That's not a mistake. The GOP is ours for the taking.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Mexico is not a bad place to retire. Having done business in many Latin American countries, I would not recommend Mexico as a place to invest, work, or start a business -- certainly not over the US. Chile, Panama, Costa Rica, and Uruguay are places that I would look out for as alternatives.

[Cytotoxic]

Have you ever read any posts from the Dollar Vigilante folks?

Several of them live in Mexico and they uniformly and unequivocally tell you that they are MUCH MORE FREE in Mexico than they would be here.

I'll be sure to ignore them in the future. That sentiment is oh so laughable.

[Irish]

Having been to Mexico, I don't think that sentiment is laughable.

America is so heavily regulated that even with the corruption of Mexico, the government interferes with daily life less than it does here.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I'd quibble with that, Irish. Outside of labor regulations, Mexico is highly regulated; you won't feel it if you live outside of, say, Mexico City or one of the major cities in Central Mexico but that's not much of a comfort. The business and wealth of Mexico is geographically centered in Central Mexico and (to a much smaller extent) parts of Northern Mexico. Investing and owning a business is a pain in the ass, and the Mexican government likes to screw with Mexico's rather immature stock exchange and banking system quite regularly.

I do agree that a retiree probably won't encounter those problems, though.

[Cytotoxic]

Mexico is moving on some serious excellent reform however. Ending the PEMEX state oil monopoly. Brazil is reforming too.

[Irish]

I'd quibble with that, Irish.

Okay. I think I'm going to stop talking about Latin America now, because I clearly don't know enough about it and everything I say is probably wrong.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

FWIW, you're more informed than the average person on the subject.

[Lolo Stahko]

Interesting how they say Mexico would be more free. However how do they define freedom? I'm sure it's easier to get heroine or an automatic weapon there, but what if you want to start a business? In many cases I have read business owners cannot get a permit because one guy payed off the politician to have a monopoly. And, in determining freedom, one must consider personal safety. Freedom includes freedom from all armed interference, including that of criminals.

I doubt that Hispanic immigrants will ever support libertarian(or Republican) policies. Even if they talk about "freedom," they think redistribution increases it. And they believe that, as soon as they walk into the country, we have wronged them. While the views of most white Americans are not pure libertarianism, they are undoubtedly preferable to the views of most Hispanics. I'd rather not speak in generalizations, but to analyze a democratic society it needs to be done.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

As a generalization, it holds true at present. However, such sentiments tend to disappear as Hispanics move into the middle class; they are not very different from their Southern and Eastern European forebears in that regard.

In fact, one problem that statisticians and political scientists are finding is that as time goes on, Americans descended from Hispanic immigrants don't identify themselves or comport as such -- many simply identify themselves as "white". This too comports with earlier patterns of European immigration; very few Polish-Americans would think to identify themselves as Slavic, for example.

It is less a problem than most people like to say it is, but it is also a short-term deficiency that could be managed better IMO.

[Cytotoxic]

I feel more free there than I do here, in many ways ... (eat shit, Tulpa). And I can guarantee you that the Brazilians will not put up with the police state type conditions that we have here. Just try putting up some yellow plastic barricade and telling the Brazilians that they can't take their beer outside of it. I would love to see them try it.

Just try getting a concealed carry license in Brazil. Your 'feelings' suck btw.

[darius404]

And if I carry illegally, what are the chances I'll get caught? Freedom isn't simply a matter of what the law does and does not prohibit you from doing, it's how much power they have to enforce it. If they don't have the manpower or resources to enforce their rules, it doesn't matter as much what is and isn't officially sanctioned. It wouldn't surprise me if Brazil had a much larger shadow economy than ours. Starving the beast can work, but it doesn't have to happen through solely legal methods.

And mentioning exactly one policy they have doesn't give an overall picture of Brazilian life.

[Cytotoxic]

You can't have freedom without the law. In Brazil, best case scenario: hope you never piss off a local pol, or you may be subject to extra searchers! Oh oh you've got a gun! Now you're screwed.

Brazil also has higher (official) inflation and a big government.

[darius404]

Of course you can have freedom without the law, that presumes that people cannot voluntarily cooperate to mutually protect their freedoms.

[Lolo Stahko]

I doubt that will ever happen, because of the race problem. Brazilians might say "race doesn't exist here," but it does. The Afro-Brazilian populations are living in relative poverty and they are starting more and more to despise the whites, thanks to imported racial consciousness. Because they represent half of Brazil's population, it is unlikely that libertarianism can exist. The best we could hope for is that the mostly white socialists who run the dominant political structure realize that too much socialism might be bad.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

That's too bad.

I do find your statement about "imported racial consciousness" interesting; is it the case that Afro-Brazilians were not particularly racially conscious in the recent past? Brazil being a country with an even longer history of slavery than the US, I find that very interesting -- Puerto Rico is also not racially conscious in the same way as the US, and slavery in Puerto Rico also ended later than in the US.

[Lolo Stahko]

They always had a certain amount of racial consciousness, but of late they have begun to demand affirmative action and rant about "privilege," just as their cousins in America do. There seems to be less racial consciousness in Spanish Latin America than in North America. In Mexico, it is obvious to anyone that the dominant class is of mainly European heritage, yet the mostly Mestizo and Indian masses do not hate the European-descended Mexicans. Racial consciousness among whites was never particularly strong there, wealthy and able Mestizos could intermarry without incident. Another reason is that European-descended Mexicans wouldn't be likely to apologize for being white. However, the minority in Brazil is African, which is much less likely to be integrated into European society the way Indians are

[MWG]

Brazil's issues have more to do with class than race. The races have been mixing since the Portuguese arrived. OTOH, given that 2/3 (don't quote me on the exact figure) of all African slaves in the Americas were shipped to Brazil, its no surprise that black/mixed Brazilians make up a larger portion of the lower class.

That said, I'm not quite sure what "imported racial consciousness" means.

[MWG]

I guess I understand what Lolo is saying, but it would be incorrect to racial consciousness is something new, at least culturally speaking. If you spend time in the Bahia, which is where a lot of my wife's family is from and still lives, you'll find the majority of the population is black and the culture is heavily influenced by the population's African roots.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Gotcha. In Puerto Rico, there are a bunch of what one might call historically black towns as well with a culture best described as creole; lots of religious practices that derive from Vodun, as well. There are definitely class issues in PR. However, there isn't the sense of racial grievance or entitlement that seems to drive much of the African community in the US.

[MWG]

If that's the case in PR, the Brazil would probably be considered somewhere in between in terms of racial grievances.

As will most of race related in issues around the world, in Brazil, it's complicated.

[Lolo Stahko]

Yes, I was speaking more of racial consciousness in a political sense, the kind that is found among American blacks but not among Mexican Mestizos.

[Irish]

That's far from the only thing that the Brazilians are protesting about. The media there are a lot like ours, full of shit and talking heads for the politicians in power. They want everyone to believe it's all about public transport ticket prices and the money being spent on world cup.

Sorry then. I didn't know exactly what the protests were about and shouldn't run my mouth unless I'm more informed.

[MWG]

I'm a little surprised at the level of endurance of the protesters. If Dilma thinks she can make it all go away by throwing more money at education and healthcare, she's horribly mistaken.

It's the corruption, stupid!

[MWG]

I think most Brazilians were well aware that there would be a cost for hosting the World Cup, but given that the CURRENT estimates now equal the last three World Cups combined, people are a little... dissapointed.

[Spiny Norman]

And stay away from the US embassy too, because spontaneous violent demonstrations can just happen there due to obscure movies and other unpredictable things.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Does the State Department even know which YouTube video they're protesting?

[Fatty Bolger]

What difference, at this point, does it make?

[cavalier973]

Confederates Cup??? Racist!!!

[sticks]

http://jezebel.com/expose-on-m.....-577527455

"What really sucks about sugar baby relationships is that most of the arrangements don't seem like they're entered into freely; they're a desperate response to a shitty set of circumstances ? a lack of job opportunities, lack of job abilities, and last, but not least, the insanely high cost of college education"

Her body your idiotic ramblings and judgment.

[Irish]

What really sucks about sugar daddy relationships is that most of the arrangements don't seem like they're entered into freely; they're a desperate response to a shitty set of circumstances - divorce, a mid-life crisis, and last, but not least, the insanely high sex drive that men have, which drives them crazy when they aren't getting any.

[cavalier973]

She's jealous that she doesn't have a sugar daddy.

[cavalier973]

What is the appeal of jezebel?

[Tman]

I made the mistake of clicking on a link to Jezebel about the SCOTUS decision on the UT admission case after reading Deadspins Stanley Cup coverage.

I have to stop doing that. Those people are fucking crazy.

[Gojira]

I don't think she understands what "entered into freely" means.

Did someone threaten you or others with violence unless you cooperated? No? Then you were not forced, you made a choice. It might have been a choice where the other options where shitty, but it was still a choice.

[sticks]

"I don't think she understands what "entered into freely" means."

Nope. Nor does she understand the importance of woman, men too, making their own choices. This is tired and old, but they really seem to only want their approved choices available for others.

[Lolo Stahko]

This is typical of feminism. Of course, in the vast majority of cases of older men/younger women couples, there is no financial motive. Feminists fail to understand female sexuality, to understand that older, high status males are considered attractive. In this case, I' bet these men are getting screwed(no pun intended). A man joining such a site would scream "BETA." Of course, this is what feminists do, take a few "out there" cases and then use them to make broad generalizations. Notice the entire city was slandered for this one website. At least it is a city I don't particularly like.

[Hash Brown]

Barack Obama. Hilary Clinton.

Quien Es Mas Macho?

[Irish]

OT: Really disturbing New York Times article about underemployed, driftless young people with crippling college debt.

Christopher, who was 25, stated simply, "Well, I have this problem of being tricked." He explained: "Like, I will get a phone call that says, you won a free supply of magazines. And they will start coming to my house. Then all of a sudden I am getting calls from bill collectors for the subscriptions to Maxim and ESPN. It's a runaround: I can't figure out who to call. Now I don't even pick up the phone, like I almost didn't pick up when you called me." He described isolation as the only safe path; by depending on no one, Christopher protected himself from trickery and betrayal.

Jesus Christ. This is the sort of thing you generally hear about happening to old people who are losing their ability to live on their own. It's like an entire generation hasn't been taught the basic tools necessary for adulthood.

I'm 23, and I'm absolutely shocked by the lack of basic common sense some of the 28-29 year olds display in this article.

[Irish]

I mean:

These fears seep into the romantic sphere, where commitment becomes yet another risky venture. Kelly, a 28-year-old line cook, spent 10 years battling depression and living off and on in her car. She finally had a job and an apartment of her own. But now she was worried about risking that hard-earned sense of security by letting someone else into her life. "I like the idea of being with someone," she said, "but I have a hard time imagining trusting anybody with all of my personal stuff." She said she would "rather be alone and fierce than be in a relationship and be milquetoast."

That last sentence sounds like the whining of a 16 year old kid who writes horrible poetry that she leaves in her high school bathroom stall. Get over yourself, man.

[Lolo Stahko]

This type of hand-wringing over "commitment" is typical among the generation that shall be heirs to our heritage. We do it as much as women, but we are honest about the reasons. Women make up a bunch of stupid hamster rationalizations about why they don't want to commit to their boyfriends that are so painful to hear, makes me wonder how this gender got the vote.

[Irish]

I don't know why you made this about her gender. The dude in the first example didn't exactly comport himself well either.

I don't think young women are any more prone to self-delusion than young men. At least among my friends it seems like a generational disease.

[Lolo Stahko]

Yes, but about issues of sex women are much more delusional than men. Most men will say why they don't want to commit, they are afraid their potential wife will dump them, they don't want kids, and they can get sex easily. Women, in contrast, will rationalize away the true reasons they don't want to commit.

[Tman]

They both won't commit because they are lazy shiftless idiots used to having everything handed to them.

This is why there are so many in that generation who graduate college with giant loans and no job prospects.

We had tons of them in my generation (GEN X) but as Louis says, nobody gives a shit about you when you're 40., so you have to suck it up and work fucking somewhere if you want to live reasonably happy.

And again, the gender is irrelevant.

[robc]

That may be the funniest Louis CK bit I have seen. But Im 43 and my ankle has been hurting me lately, so YMMV.

[Cytotoxic]

This is just further evidence of the need for mass immigration.

I'm almost 2 years older than you and I don't get it either. It's like my cohort is incapable of setting real goals or even desiring goals. I'm lazy but even I have (hazy) goals. That, and they have been poisoned by excessive kindness even more than the rest of the world.

[Irish]

Western culture has extended adolescence far beyond the point where it should end. All of our policies have the same result.

1. Easy money for college. You can get that humanities degree on credit and spend four years getting drunk and sleeping around in a collegiate bubble that has no similarity to the rest of the world.

2. Welfare programs shield people from the results of their own decisions. We help support kids that you should never have had. We allow you to live a decent life regardless of how many bad decisions you make. We enable alcoholics, drug addicts, gambling addicts, the poorly educated and the lazy. This allows people to keep acting like teenagers into their thirties.

There are dozens of other examples of the same thing. We allow people to act like children, and then we express shock and dismay that 28 year olds act less mature than a 15 year old would have even 40 years ago.

[Cytotoxic]

It's weird...I'm kind of sympathetic. I feel like my 20s have been pretty lame so far, and I want to have fun. Feels like the world's closing in on me and I don't want to have a boring adulthood and die.

[Libertymike]

Your best days are ahead of you!

[A Serious Man]

Christopher, who was 25, stated simply, "Well, I have this problem of being tricked." He explained: "Like, I will get a phone call that says, you won a free supply of magazines. And they will start coming to my house. Then all of a sudden I am getting calls from bill collectors for the subscriptions to Maxim and ESPN. It's a runaround: I can't figure out who to call. Now I don't even pick up the phone, like I almost didn't pick up when you called me."

You laugh at him now, but just wait till his Nigerian money comes in!

[SweatingGin]

I'm just waiting for his email telling me he wired me the fees so I can "transfer" it to him.

[Ed]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awK0NrgHUbk

[Sevo]

"Christopher, who was 25, stated simply, "Well, I have this problem of being tricked.""

No, Christopher you have a problem with being stupid.

[Sevo]

OK, 25, 25, what in hell was I....? Add 25 to some prehistoric date and that was...
Got it. That year some others and me were working for a company that went broke. We used sweat equity and some borrowed dough to re-start that company. And it worked.
Hey, Christopher! Get off your butt and quit hoping for free shit!

[Sevo]

BTW, the IOC is forever hoping to 'do good'; remember Sarajevo?
Screw 'em. They're a supposed NGO funded almost entirely by governments, full of self-righteous twits, cruising around the world on that stolen pelf, claiming saint-hood, and delivering TV images of weepy-eyed Bob Costas telling how the Mom of poor little X had to take in laundry for...
Ah, screw it. I'm tired of it.

[rosemaryadverd113]

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http://WWW.JOBS31.COM

[ThatSkepticGuy]

So, they wanted their precious World Cup, but didn't want to have to pay for it.

Wow, it's a combination of the stupidity and solipsism of OWS combined with the stupidity and solipsism of soccer fans.

[MWG]

"So, they wanted their precious World Cup, but didn't want to have to pay for it."

That's actually not it. As I said in my first comment above, the World Cup SO FAR, has cost about as much as the last 3 combined.

[Timon 19]

"the stupidity and solipsism of soccer fans."

Wha?

[Timon 19]

I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, or that the title is something that is mocked in the article, and I realize the thread is probably very dead by now, but:

Those words are pretty much exactly what the State Department has to say in their advisories about any and all unrest in countries Americans travel to. Turkey has had the same damn wordings and the same damn alerts for about 6 weeks now.

[cavalier973]

Roll that beautiful Brazil footage!