Saturday, June 22, 2013

Brazil's New Middle Class Takes to the Streets, The American Middle Class" Should take notes



[image]Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Riot police charge a protester in Rio de Janeiro during demonstrations this week demanding better public services and lower transit costs.

SÃO PAULO—For Alexandre Peppe, the last decade has been great. The 29-year-old from the poor outskirts of São Paulo got a good job in state government, bought a car and became the first in his family to go to college.

All the same, he took to the streets this week with a million other members of Brazil's new middle class over a wide range of grievances, from high bus fares to corruption and crime.

"The population is revolting against the government of Brazil," said Mr. Peppe, who joined others to cram the broad avenues of São Paulo.

Over the last decade, Brazil capitalized on a global commodity boom to lift millions out of poverty and create a new middle class. Brazil's politicians from all political stripes now find themselves under siege from the very same group.

"This middle class had economic growth in a period of low inflation, and suddenly they've unleashed a cauldron of complaints, on a range of issues like corruption, that have been accumulating for a decade," said Maílson da Nóbrega, a former Brazilian finance minister.
Demonstrations in Rio have grown into a movement protesting poor government services, corruption and crime. WSJ's Loretta Chao reports.

On Friday, demonstrators returned to the streets in nearly sixty cities, with reports of looting in Rio de Janeiro, where some of the protests have turned violent in recent days. The protests have continued despite decisions by São Paulo and Rio to give in to a key demand for lower bus fares. But the protest movement has expanded beyond that issue to a field of middle class grievances.

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