Elective Geography - Special Interest Report

SOPHIA SAVAGE

The 2014 Brazil FIFA World Cup and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games

Will Brazil’s current social issues impact the economic success of upcoming sporting events?

Introduction
The current social issues occurring within Brazil will negatively impact the financial prosperity of the forthcoming 2014 FIFA Soccer World Cup and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

Sporting controversies in Brazil are supposed to be about team selections, tactics and winning gold, but this year they’ve focused on much bigger concerns. Jobs, poverty, public services and corruption – past tournaments of these measures have been an advantage for governments hoping to distract their people, and the world, from exactly these kinds of problems. Could Brazil’s forthcoming World Cup and Olympics be different? Major sporting events in Latin America have a history of both illuminating and ignoring larger homegrown problems.

Officially known as the Federative Republic of Brazil, the 202.7 million strong federal republic is headed by President Dilma Rouseff, who anticipates the eyes of the world on them with the two largest sporting events in the world taking place throughout the nation in the near future as they host both the Soccer World Cup and Rio Olympics Games. In a span of just 2 years, Brazil will brace itself for an influx of vast numbers of visitors, sports fans and tourists keen to participate in the international activities. Major social issues are the primary concerns for the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the International Olympics Committee (IOC), both of which have warned Brazil about the need for greater urgency in the run-up to these events. The incompletion of venues, high crime rates and violent public protests need to be effectively managed and controlled by the government and authorities to ensure success and prosperity derives from both tournaments.

Brazil’s Financial Status
Brazil has the seventh largest global economy by nominal GDP (US$2.25 trillion in 2013), and is the seventh largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) which currently stands at US$14 575. The Brazilian economy is characterized by moderately free markets, with their current GDP per capita being US$12 1000. The IOC’s decision to allow Brazil to host the Olympics after the World Cup makes them the second country ever to facilitate both events back to back. Upon winning the bid in 2007, the Brazilian economy was booming. The country was a flush with opportunities and everyone wanted to reap from the benefits. As the largest South American country in both area and population, Brazil was one of the worlds fastest growing economic powerhouses between 2000-2010. The country’s meteoric rise occurred under the stewardship of Luiz Nacio da Saliva who served as president from 2002-2011. However, a developing country such as Brazil’s economy is not necessarily an accurate predictor of its future capabilities. In 2008, one year into their bid to host the Olympics, Brazil’s economy collapsed, causing a number of complicating factors relating to their successful bids for the advancing sports events, not the least of which was the governments need to provide millions of dollars in private investment that hadn’t come through. Huge amounts of money that country doesn’t have were thrown at the problem of preparing for the World Cup and Olympics at the expense of much needed social problems. Brazil’s GDP was growing at a 6% rate when the country was assigned both events in 2007, but dipped below 0 in 2009 and is now growing at a minimal pace. The financial collapse resulted in a lack of private funding exacerbated by deeply entrenched cultural norms regarding deadlines, and with the World Cup and Olympics soon approaching, preparation for the events are not faring much better.

The main reason Brazil believed it was capable of hosting both events was its flush finances when