A month before the start of the FIFA World Cup, "organized labor groups across Brazil have begun a series of strikes and other protests for higher pay and better working conditions," according to Vincent Bevins of the L.A. TIMES. Associations of police officers, teachers, transportation workers, public employees and security guards "have all left their posts or engaged in demonstrations." More actions "are planned in coming days, adding to the concern that as the eyes of the world focus on the South American nation, it might be paralyzed by widespread protests." The most chaotic job action took place in Recife, where the U.S. "is scheduled to play Germany on June 28." Police "left the community unprotected for three days last week." Brazilian media "broadcast scenes of looting and violence." Other police groups have promised a day of national "paralysis" on Wednesday. David Fleischer, a political scientist at the University of Brasilia, said that Unions and other groups of workers "may be using the period before the tournament, a time when the federal government is desperate to establish order, as a negotiating tool." Fleischer: "The government is in a very weak bargaining position right now, and any strike will create much more pressure for terms to be met than they would under normal circumstances" (L.A. TIMES, 5/17).
