Brazil has created a "special" 10,000-strong elite security force to "help police control demonstrations expected during the World Cup," according to Gordon Tynan of the London INDEPENDENT. Brazil National Security Force Head Colonel Alexandre Augusto Aragon "was quoted in local news on Friday as saying that the riot troops selected from state police forces throughout Brazil will be deployed in the 12 cities hosting games in the competition." Aragon said, "We've have been concerned with the security during the World Cup before the protests that took place earlier this year, because we don't wait around for things to happen. The violence of recent protests is what scared us" (INDEPENDENT, 1/3). The AP reported at the peak of last summer's Confederations Cup protests, 1 million people "took to the streets across Brazil in a single day, complaining initially of higher bus fares, corruption and poor public services, and then extending to the billions of dollars being spent on the World Cup and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics." "There will be no World Cup," became one of the mass movement's most popular chants. "FIFA go home" was another. Brazilian authorities have said that "they've learned from the demonstrations during the Confederations Cup and will not let protesters get too close to stadiums during the World Cup" (AP, 1/3). In N.Y., Amanda Schiavo reported the anarchist movement known as the Black Bloc "has already announced plans to protest at the World Cup." They "plan on starting during the opening ceremony on June 12" (LATIN TIMES, 1/3). IANS reported the force, comprising members of the National Public Security Force, "has been receiving special training" since '11. Aragon: "The National Force is not an ordinary force. We are called during times of crisis, only for specific missions" (IANS, 1/4).
