Brazil’s Student Upsurge
Brazil's massive student occupations are occurring against a backdrop of crumbling left parties and a vicious austerity government.
On October 25, a high-school student shocked Brazil when she explained the reasons why the country is facing its most turbulent social movement in years. The sixteen-year-old Ana Júlia, testifying on the student occupations that have gripped both public high schools and university campuses across the country, declared that “one week of occupations has brought us much more knowledge about politics and citizenship than in many years of study in the classroom.” This is a new terrain for left politics in Brazil, but we must see the whole picture to understand why we are currently experiencing the most intense student struggle in decades.
The FIFA Standard
In 2013, Brazil faced its most intense rebellion since the 1980s. A massive struggle in the streets of the greatest cities of the country began against public transit-fare hikes. In cities like São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Porto Alegre, and others, thousands of people spontaneously came to the streets to protest; and as this struggle grew, it became more and more diverse.
The timing of the protests, known as the “June Days,” was significant; it was right before the Confederations Cup, a rehearsal for the World Cup that would come to Brazil in the following year. At that time, FIFA delegates such as Jérôme Valcke (nowadays facing charges for corruption) were complaining that Brazilian facilities for the World Cup did not match the “FIFA standard.” His comment became the protesters’ unifying slogan: “We want the ‘FIFA standard’ for transport, education, healthcare and public services,” they said.
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