Brazil Football World Cup 2014 - Protest and Security
Thousand of people peacefully took to the streets to protest and express their discontent over the high government expenditure on the Football World Cup 2014, which Brazil is going to host in four months.
"There will be no Cup!" and "Cup for the rich, scraps for the poor!" protesters chanted.
Although the rally began peacefully, it descended into chaos as some demonstrators started smashing bank windows, constructed roadblocks, and set piles of garbage on fire in the streets. While some told the agency that violence escalated after police refused to allow the rally to carry on, others pointed at masked ‘Black Bloc’ anarchists in the demonstrations.
Stun grenades were fired and tear gas deployed in order to disperse the gatherings. Sao Paulo military police reported on Twitter that 230 people were arrested.
Brazil announced a security boost of more than 70,000 police personnel for this year's football World Cup. In total, 170,000 people are expected to be deployed to guarantee security across the 12 host cities.
Around 150,000 personnel will be from the armed services and police. But an extra 20,000 security stewards will be trained to work inside the 12 stadiums of the tournament.
