海角大神

鈥⒙�A version of this post ran on riorealblog.com.聽The views expressed are the author's own.

Brazil has long been a聽relatively聽closed, inward-looking country, with not much travel nor the consumption of imported consumer goods 鈥� nor widespread knowledge of foreign languages. This began to change about a decade ago. Hosting the World Cup this summer added impetus. Even for those who didn鈥檛 mix with the 900,000-odd tourists (half of whom were foreign 鈥� about the same number that comes for Carnival) in Maracan茫,聽the South Zone, or in favelas, the World Cup connected Brazilians with more information about the rest of the world via electronic and print media. This may be the event鈥檚 best legacy.

But while the world was focused on the international soccer tournament, a lot happened behind the scenes, from cultural exchanges to political jockying. Here are a few snapshots:

Who knew?

A man from Bangladesh stood on the Copacabana beachfront sidewalk, looking out to sea. Asked which team he was rooting for, he plucked at his yellow Brazilian national team shirt. 鈥淲e make these in my country,鈥� he said, smiling.

Meanwhile, young passinho dancers performed all World Cup month in their Na Batalha show. They鈥檒l be in New York this coming聽week, together with a screening of Em铆lio Domingo鈥檚 fabulous passinho dance documentary. O Globo newspaper fired its Rio editor, Gilberto Scofield, providing the perfect opportunity for some reflection on the paper's local coverage. And a hurried (and possibly illegal) public hearing was held, the day after the final game,聽on a $715 million federally funded upgrade program, PAC II, for the Rocinha favela.

Business boom or bust?

While prostitutes did a booming business in the South Zone,聽business elsewhere languished. In contrast to the citywide experience during last year鈥檚 Catholic youth event, with Pope Francis鈥� visit, World Cup tourism focused on the South Zone, a聽low-budgeter鈥檚 paradise 鈥� with the enormous FanFest screen in Copacabana, lots of cheap drinks and snacks,聽and聽the ocean for a bathroom. Rio鈥檚 Mayor Eduardo Paes was taken aback by the arrival of hundreds of Argentines in cars and motor homes, camping out聽in Leme.聽They were moved to the Samb贸dromo.

Aside from the Samb贸dromo,聽Maracan茫 stadium, and the聽traditional big聽screen in the聽Alzir茫o聽neighborhood, few tourists ventured into the West or North Zones. A considerable number found lodging in South Zone favelas such as Rocinha and Vidigal.

More shootings than tourists?

Cariocas living in Complexo do Alem茫o and Rocinha聽saw more shooting than they did tourists. One version of what聽went on in Rocinha聽is that drug traffickers, normally holed up at the top of a聽hill, moved down to watch World Cup games along with other residents 鈥撀� something pacification police weren鈥檛 counting on. The Extra Newspaper reported yesterday that pacification聽police will no longer carry out night patrols聽鈥� a decision that may have electoral aims, in a bid to bring down violence in pacified favelas until October gubernatorial election.

Protests and the reaction of police (who,聽along with the Brazilian army and navy,聽locked down聽the South Zone)聽followed a聽script. It was easy to see how things would go,聽weeks聽earlier,聽when journalists were invited to a training session. As a preventative [measure], police arrested those they聽suspected of organizing violence and/or protests聽for聽the day of the World Cup final, and then they聽cracked down on protesters in Tijuca鈥檚聽Saens聽Pe帽a square.聽Human rights activists聽are聽campaigning聽against what they say was an unconstitutional state of exception during the games.

They express concern over a continued lack of recourse against such police tactics, which at very least are certain to inhibit further street demonstrations. One would hope that not only will peaceful protests be allowed to take place, but that dissident Brazilians would also invest in the preparation of new leadership and in voter education, among other needs for a healthy democracy.

Politics

Earlier, the Provid锚ncia favela聽cable car system, a political hot potato ready months before,聽was quietly inaugurated.

Political parties held conventions and聽chose their definitive gubernatorial candidates, who worked up some truly odd alliances, demonstrating the weakness of a democracy聽based more on personality and personal relationships, rather than on ideas and platforms. At the moment, former Governor Anthony Garotinho and former Sen. Marcelo Crivella lead the polls, tied at 24 percent. Incumbent Luiz Fernando 鈥淧ez茫o鈥� de Souza stands at 14 percent, followed by Lindbergh Farias, at 12 percent. Notably, blank and annulled ballots total 23 percent of the vote right now.

This blogger鈥檚 guess is that Mr. Pez茫o鈥檚 share will grow over the next months, as he draws on his party鈥檚 political machine and campaign air time exposure.

As the Cup began, Pez茫o聽awarded public servant pay hikes聽totaling as much as $447 million a year. He stands to gain a great deal from the political machine he inherits from two-term former Governor S茅rgio Cabral, who left the governorship to his vice-governor in April.

The campaign is聽sure to focus on pacification, the centerpiece of Mr. Cabral鈥檚 administration. Of the candidates, only Mr. Garotinho聽has no plans for continuity.

Another announcement聽overshadowed聽by soccer was that Rio鈥檚 state legislature, housed in a horrific building adjacent to Pra莽a Quinze and the Pa莽o Imperial,聽will move to new quarters near City Hall and the Operations Center, in Cidade Nova. The old building will be torn down and its neighboring Pal谩cio Tiradentes (originally the national congress building) restored, creating聽a new waterside space, no longer sliced through聽by the recently demolished elevated highway.

During the World Cup,聽O Globo聽also reported that, of 64 state legislators, fifteen of them more than doubled their personal assets in the last four years.

And now come聽the Olympics, for which many World Cup tourists plan to return.