An Anatomy of Resistance: The Popular Committees of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil

Abstract

The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was characterized by massive public protests in hundreds of Brazilian cities. Such were the scale and intensity of the social unrest that the successful realization of the tournament was threatened. Violent police reactions to demonstrations exposed their lack of preparation and training, as well as the pervasive modes of conflict resolution in Brazil. While the protests themselves called into question the channelling of public resources into state of the art sports facilities, tax exemptions for FIFA and their corporate partners, and the lack of decent public services in Brazilian cities, protest-space was also contested territory. Black blocs, anarchists, right-wing anti-government organizations, and undercover police mixed with lower- and middle-class protesters, student groups, syndicalists, political parties, and newly formed civil society organizations. All of these groups were often present at the same protests, creating a melange of messages, tactics, and interpretations of dissent.