Protesting Injusticos da Vida

So what's going on anyway?  An attempt at analysis.

Widespread dissatisfaction with Brazil's first woman president, Dilma Rousseff (pronounced Jilma), and her attempts to consolidate power in preparation for the next general election in 2014 contribute to general unrest.   Her popularity nosedived with mass spending for the upcoming World Cup Games 2013 and the Summer Olympics  2016 in a nation of large classrooms, overcrowded mass transit combined with a hike in bus rates, and an inadequate healthcare system.

The rise of an Evangelical Christian movement that looks askance at the passage of the gay marriage law fuels political discontent.

The perception that the government is corrupt and power seeking was furthered by Dilma's celebration of ten years of Labor Party power with a party.  This was perceived as a misuse of government funds to strengthen the Labor Party, only one in Brazil's multi-party system.

Comments from students and teachers in Goiania after the protest add to the picture:

We have to show the world that Brazilians can stand up against injustice.  We see protests all over the world and we realize we can fight for our rights.

The protest was a failure because we didn't have a goal.  I saw too many people drinking and fighting without any purpose.

The protests are just a beginning.  Once people are empowered to speak out, we need to have an agenda for the future.

We weren't organized we had to walk a long way and when we got to the Civic Center the police were blocking the entrance and we had to go even further.

The rise in bus fares means that some people can't eat from the time they leave home in the morning until they return late in the evening.  The private bus companies are gouging the public without improving the services.

The protests were safe.  Some teachers even took their small children to participate.

My own observations are based on arriving near the protest site around 7:00, two hours after the protests formally began.  Many protestors were clothed in white for peace.  I saw couples and people still dressed in business attire.  At that time many people were leaving.  When the police fired loud sounds into the air, most people streamed the other way.   Those who walked toward the police were largely young men with their faces covered.  Some picked up lightweight sticks.

Global Education Questions:  Have public protests been effective in America?  What types of social ills seem to invite public protest?