Preparations for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympic games have tested President Dilma Rousseff’s government. Public discontent was reflected in the unexpectedly strong showing by Socialist Party candidate Marina Silva, but Rousseff was re-elected to a second term in October 2014. Brazil is spending heavily to host marquee sporting events, but Brazilians resent the fact that they are left to contend with poor public services, antiquated and insufficient infrastructure, high taxes, inflation, corruption, and sluggish economic growth. Brazil’s “Bolsa Família,” a conditional cash transfer program for the poor, has helped the government to win support in some sectors. Brazil is the world’s seventh-largest economy, and its population of almost 200 million is heavily concentrated on the Atlantic coast. The middle class is growing, and millions have been lifted out of poverty, but government intervention in the economy continues to cause the misallocation of capital and limit mobility, fueling a sense of injustice.
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