SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Today, I got my first real glimpse at the stadiums built for this World Cup. The opening match will be in Sao Paulo -- host Brazil vs. Croatia on Thursday.
The facilities are amazing. The stadium seating, much like the old Montreal Forum, is stacked on such a steep pitch that it feels like you are falling forward onto the action below.
Surrounding the venues is what I have come to expect from these major sporting events -- organized chaos. Trees are being planted, lines on the streets are being painted and secondary structures are being built at break neck speeds.
Paint on the lines is so fresh, car tires are kicking up the spray. (Peter Akman/麻豆传媒)
Brazil, however, is a different beast.
Go back to the preparations for the Commonwealth Games in 2010 in Delhi, India. My wife and I were there as the main stadium was being built. But for this architectural marvel to become a reality, hundreds of thousands of the poorest of the poor had to be swept away. Entire shanty towns, bulldozed, communities scattered.
Here, in Brazil, it doesn鈥檛 feel much different.
Less than a kilometre from the main stadium, 1,200 families have set up camp. No, they aren鈥檛 tourists saving money to have a WC experience on the cheap. They are the working class, the most needy of this society.
These people are squatting. They showed up a few months ago on a piece of land that was set to be developed for condos and they moved in, bringing whatever scraps they could find to make structures they could sleep under.
Walking through this community dubbed 鈥楾he People鈥檚 Cup,鈥� there is order. Homes with thick black plastic for walls and roofs are stretched over 2 x 4鈥瞫 held together with a few nails. Each structure has a letter and a number on it registered to a person who has to sign in daily to prove they are living there.
There is a central kitchen, with power, a stove and piles of dry goods.
But life here is tough -- water has to be walked in as there is no water service, electricity or sewage.
This is one of the families squatting in a camp near the new stadium. (Peter Akman/麻豆传媒)
Each home, measuring on average 4 x 4 metres, sleeps as many as eight people. Grandparents, children, pets, etc. All living together in the filth and mud, which, if located in different surroundings, would resemble a refugee camp.
But the people living here have hope.
Unlike most other 鈥淥ccupy鈥� movements around the world, this push is getting the government鈥檚 attention.
Monday, officials decided these people can keep living in this place they have squatted on. Most believe the decision is a way of keeping them quiet as the World Cup kicks off.
The People's Cup, reads this banner. (Peter Akman/麻豆传媒)
Still it鈥檚 a victory. One that is getting noticed across the city and country. Occupiers are taking their stand by sitting down. But land isn鈥檛 the only thing on the line. Other social movements are joining in. All areas of society are demanding democratic reforms, a living wage and equal rights for all no matter the social standing.
Born out of this occupation, the slogan 鈥淏razil is Waking Up!鈥�
