Brazil Wins Confederations Cup, Amid Protests On and Off the Field · Global Voices
Thiana Biondo

This post is part of our coverage Brazil's Vinegar Revolt
[All links lead to Portuguese language pages, except when otherwise noted.]
Brazil won its fourth Confederations Cup title, in the midst of a series of protests that have been happening in the country since at least June 6, 2013 [en]. The demonstrations have gained momentum and have become a  significant national event [en] that is not only against the increase in bus fare, but also against the  expenditures for the 2014 World Cup [en].
On June 30, as Fred and Neymar scored goals at Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro, members of the Popular World Cup Committee (Comitê Popular da Copa) and the Forum for the Fight against the raise in Busfare (Fórum de Lutas) made a  series of claims, including against the  privatization of Maracanã stadium  and against the 2014 Cup. A contingent of nearly 10,000 police officers were activated to deal with the demonstrators and there was a confrontation between them on the outskirts of the stadium.
This video filmed from the top of a building by Youtube user Victor Neves shows a row of police officers blocking the passage of a crowd of protesters that marched towards Maracanã:
This video by Julio Ferretti shows scenes of the confrontation:
On Facebook, reactions were mixed and the moment of enjoying the Selection on the field did not contradict the desire to protest on the streets. Victor Lins commented:
.. prontooo!! Parabéns a nossa seleção .. Mas Não vamos perder o FOCO BRASIL!!!! #Protesto #VamosmudarObrasil #VemPraRua
… ready!! Congratulations on our selection.. But we are not going to lose FOCUS BRAZIL!!!! #Protesto #VamosmudarObrasil (Lets Change Brazil) #VemPraRua (Come to the Street)
Filipe Azambuja even reached the point of questioning whether or not the poor performance of Spain on the field had been on purpose to take away Brazilians’ focus on the protests:
Teoria da conspiração: Esse jogo foi estranho d+. A Espanha dormiu durante 90 min, parece ser arranjado. Resultado final, brasileiros esquecendo dos problemas.
#protestopoa #protesto
Conspiracy theory: this game was too strange. Spain slept for 90 minutes, it seems staged. The final result, Brazilians forgetting the issues. #protestopoa (protest Porto Alegre) #protesto (protest)
A unit of the Rio Military Police is accidentally hit by tear gas bombs from the riot police. Among the effects of the weapon are burning of the skin and eyes, a lack of air, and a burning feeling in the throat. /Midia Ninja/ Image used with permission.
Inside the stadium, the demonstration was also felt. The  effects of the pepper spray used by the police to disperse protestors reached FIFA volunteers and spectators. Two dancers that were part of the performance opened a banner against the privatization of Maracanã stadium.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycslNxMrjjA
#protestorj Participants of the closing ceremony raised a banner in protest of breaking the protocol. This was the banner that was raised./Anonymous Rio
Soon after, another dancer-protester raised a poster against homophobia directed at the evangelical TV host Mara Maravilha who stated a few days ago that homosexuality was an abomination. The poster read in Portuguese ” Being gay is brilliant. Abomination is prejudice.”
In Salvador
At the Fonte Nova stadium, Italy beat Uruguay with penalties, guaranteeing third place in the Confederations Cup. Outside the game, approximately 500 protestors of the Free Fare Movement of Salvador (Movimento Passe Livre Salvador)  marched towards Fonte Nova stadium, but the police stated that there were no clashes.
Agents of the Bahia Military Police created fake profiles on Twitter and Facebook to monitor the exchange of information between members of the protests on social networks. The objective was to identify and neutralize the leadership of the movements, as reported by investigative journalism agency A Pública.
Journalist Pablo Reis (@opabloreis) published a photo on Twitter saying:
@opabloreis Tropa de Choque faz barreira pra manifestantes perto do Dique do Tororó no entorno da FonteNova #VemPraRua Salvador pic.twitter.com/qTj8SZCF5w
@opabloreis Riot police form a barrier against demonstrators near Dique do Tororó in the vicinity of Fonte Nova #VemPraRua Salvador (Come to the Street Salvador) pic.twitter.com/qTj8SZCF5w
Photo @opabloreis /pic.twitter.com/qTj8SZCF5w