Massacred by the government’s taxes, more than 100,000 Brazilians protest against government
Commentary by Julio Severo:
The massive
protests in Brazil may be summarized in the complaint from a Brazil, who said,
“We’re massacred by the government's taxes, yet when
we leave home in the morning to go to work, we don't know if we'll make it home
alive because of the violence. We don't have good schools for our kids. Our
hospitals are in awful shape. Corruption is rife. These protests will make
history and wake our politicians up to the fact that we're not taking it
anymore!”
We Brazilians
have been massacred by high taxes indeed. By God’s standard, government should
punish criminals and praise good people (Romans 13). But the Brazilian government
wants to occupy the role of good people. So it takes from Brazilians much of
their hard-earned money through high and corrupt tax laws. Its excuse is to
grant Brazilians education, health, housing, etc.
It does grant
them, of very poor quality. But, at the same time, there is no security. Crime
is rampant. Brazilians suffer more than 50,000 murders a years. The Brazilian
governo is very far away from fulfilling its divine mandate to punish
criminals. See:
I doubt that
these massive protests will change the corrupt Brazilian government and its
actions to massacre its people through its high taxes. Only God can help the
Brazilian people!
Please, pray for
Brazil, so that its Christian leaders may understand the right place for
government and taxes and be tools for a revival.
Read now the
FoxNews report:
 |
| June 17, 2013: Protestors march in Sao Paulo, Brazil. |
More than 100,000 in Brazil protest against government services, corruption
SAO PAULO –
Some of the biggest demonstrations since the end of Brazil's 1964-85
dictatorship have broken out across this continent-sized country, uniting tens
of thousands frustrated by poor transportation, health services, education and
security despite a heavy tax burden.
More than 100,000
people were in the streets Monday for largely peaceful protests in at least
eight big cities. However, demonstrations in Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte
were marred by vandalism and violent clashes with police.
About two dozen
people were reported injured.
The wave of
protests, which began over a hike in bus prices, was also in large part
motivated by widespread images of Sao Paulo police last week beating
demonstrators and firing rubber bullets during a march that drew 5,000. In Rio,
the violent police crackdown on a small and peaceful crowd Sunday near the
Maracana stadium incited many to come out for what local news media described
as the city's largest protest in a generation.
Tuesday's
newspapers and morning news shows were filled with images of clashes between
demonstrators and police in Rio, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte. The vast
majority of Rio's protesters were peaceful, but a small group of demonstrators
attacked the state legislature building, setting a nearby car and other objects
ablaze. The newspaper O Globo cited Rio state security officials as saying at
least 20 officers and 10 protesters were injured there.
Monday's
protests came during soccer's Confederations Cup and just one month before a
papal visit, a year before the World Cup and three years ahead of the 2016
Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The unrest is raising security concerns and renewed
questions over Brazil's readiness to host the mega-events.
A cyber-attack
knocked the government's official World Cup site offline, and the Twitter feed
for Brazil's Anonymous group posted links to a host of other government
websites whose content had been replaced by a screen calling on citizens to
come out to the streets.
In a brief
statement late Monday, President Dilma Rousseff acknowledged the
demonstrations, saying: "Peaceful demonstrations are legitimate and part
of democracy. It is natural for young people to demonstrate." Rousseff
recently saw her popularity rating recently dip for the first time in her
presidency, largely over sluggish growth, increasing inflation and security
worries. Rousseff faces re-election next year.
Brazilians have
long tolerated pervasive corruption, but in about 40 million Brazilians have
moved out of poverty and into the middle class over the past decade and they have
begun to demand more from government. Many are angry that billions of dollars
in public funds are being spent to host the World Cup and Olympics while few
improvements are made elsewhere.
In Rio, the
confrontation between police and a small group of protesters dragged on late
into the night despite sporadic rain. As the group moved on the state
legislature building, footage broadcast by the Globo television network showed
police firing into the air. At least one demonstrator in Rio was injured after being
hit in the leg with a live round allegedly fired by a law enforcement official.
Local news media
reported that a high school student in Maceio was shot in the face after a
motorist forced his way through the demonstrators' barricade. Protesters were
raining fists down on the car when a shot was fired. The extent of the
16-year-old's injuries were not immediately known.
In Sao Paulo,
Brazil's economic hub, at least 65,000 protesters gathered Monday at a small,
treeless plaza then broke into three directions in a Carnival atmosphere, with
drummers beating out samba rhythms as people chanted anti-corruption jingles.
They also railed against the action that sparked the first protests last week:
a 10-cent hike in bus and subway fares.
Thousands of
protesters in the capital, Brasilia, peacefully marched on Congress. Dozens
scrambled up a ramp to a low-lying roof, clasping hands and raising their arms,
the light from below sending their elongated shadows onto the structure. Some
congressional windows were broken, but police did not use force.
"This is a
communal cry saying: `We're not satisfied,"' Maria Claudia Cardoso said on
a Sao Paulo avenue, taking turns waving a sign reading
"(hash)revolution" with her 16-year-old son, Fernando, as protesters
streamed by.
"We're
massacred by the government's taxes, yet when we leave home in the morning to
go to work, we don't know if we'll make it home alive because of the
violence," she added. "We don't have good schools for our kids. Our
hospitals are in awful shape. Corruption is rife. These protests will make
history and wake our politicians up to the fact that we're not taking it
anymore!"
Protest leaders
repeatedly warned marchers that damaging public or private property would only
hurt their cause. Many Brazilians were angry over Sao Paulo's first protests
last week after windows were broken and buildings spray-painted.
Police, too,
changed tactics. In Sao Paulo, commanders said publicly before the protest they
would try to avoid violence, but could resort to force if protesters destroyed
property. There was barely any perceptible police presence at the start of
Monday's demonstration.
In Belo
Horizonte, police estimated about 20,000 people took part in a peaceful protest
before a Confederations Cup match between Tahiti and Nigeria. Earlier in the
day, demonstrators erected several barricades of burning tires on a nearby
highway, disrupting traffic.
Protests also
were reported in Curitiba, Vitoria, Fortaleza, Recife, Belem and Salvador.
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