World Cup Update:Brazilian President, Defends World Cup Spending

Its hours before the month-long soccer World Cup kicks off in Brazil, President Dilma Rousseff defended the cost of hosting the tournament, vowed to punish corruption and urged her compatriots to give visiting fans a warm welcome.Following a year of protests over the roughly $11 billion US Brazil is spending to host the World Cup, Rousseff said in a televised address on Tuesday that investments in stadiums, airport terminals and other infrastructure would provide long-term benefits for the country.
“We did this, above all, for Brazilians,” she said, repeating an argument she has put forth that the public works implemented for the tournament “won’t leave in suitcases along with the tourists.”
The tournament, which kicks off on tomorrow when Brazil faces Croatia in Sao Paulo, is the most costly World Cup since the competition began 84 years ago.
While residents across the 12 host cities complain that many promised development projects are delayed, or never materialized, Rousseff sought to underscore what has been accomplished. She rejected the “false dilemma” that World Cup spending somehow diminished investments in health, education and other public services.

Posted by Kunda on June 11, 2014. Filed under INTERNATIONAL NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry