Protesting Brazilians Paint Teresina Argentine Blue, White

Historically, "football united Brazil's 200 million-plus people," according to Dom Phillips of the London GUARDIAN. Nowadays, Brazilians "are no longer as proud of their country or their team" -- to the point that some fans wore red when Brazil lined up for its first game against Switzerland -- "while others are even going so far" as to root for Argentina. One street in a working-class neighborhood in Teresina, in the northeastern state of Piauí, "has even been painted" in light blue and white. The colors were the idea of Raimundo Pereira Júnior, 35, who talked his neighbors into contributing £5 ($6.64) each to "daub 8 Street" with Argentina’s colors. He said, "The country is broken. It is an embarrassment. I am ashamed to live here in Brazil today" (GUARDIAN, 6/17).