To make this discussion clear and honest, I must first tell you that I'm a progressive person since I gained my political consciousness. This article represents the views that I and millions of Brazilians have about the World Cup and the Brazilian scenery.

Since last June, Brazil has been going through major social upheavals in reaction to political mismanagement of the country. Before that, it was pretty common to see corruption scandals unveiled on TV, with no lasting consequences for the guilty ones; yet the population remained quiet, keeping their anger and frustration to themselves. This last part has now changed — and it happened to change at an auspicious moment for the country. Probably the most auspicious it has ever been. Let me explain.

1. How did Brazil get here, all of a sudden?

In the 1980s, Brazil went through a period of rapid inflation, at one point reaching 480% annually. Yes, 480%. When people received their salaries at the beginning of the month, they had to run to the store and buy everything they would need for the entire month. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to afford a thing, because prices rose so much even in the span of just 30 days. This started to change in the 1990s, with Plano Real — Pres. Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s successful project to stabilize Brazil’s currency. But basic inequality persisted, and Brazil continued to rank poorly in global indexes of social equality, poverty, hunger, illiteracy and democracy.

In 2002, Lula, a former metallurgical worker and union leader, was elected president. Following a line of governing for the masses, Lula redistributed wealth to the helpless through Fome Zero and Bolsa Família, described by The Economist as

“an anti-poverty program invented in Latin America that is gaining followers all around the globe…”

When the whole world was aiming to cut government programs and spending after the 2008 economic crisis, Lula increased public investment, a strategy some credit with limiting the effects of the meltdown in Brazil. The crisis that put the EU and the USA economies down to the floor "was just a small wave" in Brazil, he said in one epic phrase. And it was.

Lula left a legacy of low unemployment, at just 5,3% — the smallest in the history of the country at that time. The poverty rate was reduced from 35,2% to 21,4%, 600,000 scholarships were given, investment in education was switched from 0,6% of the country's GDP to 4,7% and 22 million people escaped extreme poverty.

Lula left office in 2008. And then came Dilma, the current president of Brazil. She’s from the same party as Lula (PT — Workers Party) and is the direct sucessor of his economic politics. The problem is that Dilma inherited Brazil at a delicate time.

2. If things are so great, why all the protesting?

Like the U.S., Brazil operates with a three-way federal division of power, shared betweeen an executive, legislative and judicial branch. And inside each one of these, the power is arranged in a clear hierarchy, with each complementing the other. This system could work very well — if it wasn’t for the fact that the majority of people elected and appointed to run them are primarily the wealthy heirs of an elite class dedicated to maintaining their own power and the status quo. These people never gave a damn about the Brazilian people, and they get really pissed when they see that poor people are now lifting their heads up and starting to claim their rights. The elite is getting cornered by these people’s claims, day by day, by protesters in the streets.

And where do Dilma and Lula stand in this scenario? They are realists. To govern Brazil, you have to form alliances with influential parties, otherwise you won’t be able to get anything done. When Lula came to the presidency, he was pretty much alone in the Congress. His party had almost no seats, and nowhere near the majority required to accomplish all the changes that Lula wanted to drive. So he started forming alliances with right-wing parties, such as PSC (Social Christian Party) and PMDB, which accepts alliances with right-wing or left-wing parties — whatever it takes to get power. (Some people call PMDB the “whore” of Brazilian politics since they are ready to business with anyone regardless of principle.)

Lula got what he wanted in the short term, but his compromises alienated the left, and the people who were once loyal to him and his party started to drift away from it, arguing he sold out. Overall, however, the left has grown considerably, especially among the youth, setting up a increasingly confrontational political framework. The right—heirs of the times of rampant exploitation of the poor—are fearful and furious of losing their former privileges.

Dilma has attempted to steer a middle course, which has made her enemies on both ends of the spectrum: A big part of the left, especially those from the middle-class and upper middle-class, is against her because of her political alliances; and the right is dead-set against her, because of her support of wealth redistribution and welfare programs to assist the poor.

As a result, her only firm political base is the poor. She knows it and courts them at all costs; yet she’s been unable to convince the middle-class who believe she governs for the rich.

This is where the World Cup comes in—to many in the country, it is the ultimate proof of Dilma’s hypocrisy.

The World Cup, which was to be the crowning glory of Lula’s legacy, has boomeranged on him and consequently Dilma as well. Even with all of its advancements, Brazil is still a very unequal and unfair country, with numerous infrastructure, health and educational problems. People are incredulous: How can a government that says that it governs for the poor back an event that is clearly only going to serve the interests of the upper middle-class and rich people? How can this government invest billions in the World Cup instead of creating more hospitals, schools and improve its transportation system?

With that, people unsatisfied with the government have gained a whole range of arguments to fuel their criticism and bring people into the street to protest. Not that critics missed those arguments before — they’ve always been there. But now, with all the media attention, they feel more coherent.

3. What the hell is 'The June Journeys'?

In June of last year, Brazil went through one of its biggest waves of protests. That period is now known as "The June Journeys." What started in Goiânia, the city where I live, has gained widespread support in other cities and turned into a national rebellion. The immediate reason? The public transportation system in Brazil is utterly precarious. I can’t even name how many humiliating situations I’ve been through during the few years I’ve been using it. Waiting for over 40 minutes for a bus that should be passing every 5 minutes is normal. And when it finally comes: Oh, Lord! You have no idea of how full it is. The long waits and big crowds are a perfect storm for thieves, who have grown increasingly bold on public buses and trains, since it is pretty hard to identify a robber in the crush of people.

The police responded to protests with repressive and tyrannical measures. Anger at the brutal tactics, amplified by social networks, only served to increase the public’s outrage. Suddenly, the protests were no longer focused just on the intolerable transportation system anymore. Every discontent was now open season, from the lack of privatization in Brazil to the lack of investment in public school infrastructure. (See the contradiction?)

And what was the result of such a diffuse protest, culminating in violence and catharsis? From the government side, basically nothing. Big changes weren’t made, and from that point of view, things are still the same.

The most significant result is that a fraction of the Brazilian people are finally awake. Anarchist movements are awake and they won’t accept government corruption anymore. Other left-wing and centrist protesters are also awake and ready to fight for their rights. Even the right-wing, which had no protesting tradition in its history, learned how to protest. And they are all out there right now in the streets, getting hit by brutal police forces, getting ready to fight for what they believe, no matter what the consequences.

All of these different groups have wildly divergent goals, but they all seem to agree on one thing: None of them want the World Cup to happen in Brazil.

Of course, they have different ideas about why they don’t want it.

Left-wing young people want to stop it because they think that the money spent on the construction should be better spent, and want to express their discontentment with the Dilma government and the rest of the politicians. It's not unanimous: Many are not angry at Dilma, but instead at the corrupt Congressmen who continually block her proposals and force her to make coalitions with other parties for a majority.

The right-wing, meanwhile, is using the World Cup, and popular opposition to it, as a weapon against Dilma to undermine her chances in this year's coming presidential election.

Dilma has recently announced that she'll use military forces to stop any sort of protests during the World Cup. Also, a bill has been introduced that would classify the protests as terrorist acts. Everything suggests that this will be approved as law.

The situation is precarious enough that no one wants to take responsibility for the World Cup. Not even the contractors, investors and high class entrepreneurs—all of whom are going to profit hugely from the event—are willing to come forward and shoulder the burden. Probably the worst example is Globo, the biggest broadcaster in Brazil and a major supporter of right-wing politicians. The company is going to make rivers of money by broadcasting the World Cup, but it is trying to push all the responsibility for the success (or failure) of the event onto the president.

4. After all that, should I really go to the World Cup?

No one knows what Dilma will do, what she really thinks of the World Cup, or how worried she truly is. But my assumption is that she’s going to do everything possible in order to make this World Cup a success. The stakes are simply too high to fail.

Behind the stadiums, the airports and new roads being built, there remains something much bigger; much bigger than Maracanã, the biggest stadium of Brazil, and much bigger than Cristo Redentor, considered one of the wonders of the modern world.

There remains the future of 200 million Brazilians.

The success or failure of the World Cup will have a direct impact on the outcome of the elections. If the World Cup fails, so will liberal progressive reform in Brazil at least for the immediate future. If it becomes a disaster, Lula’s dream of building a more equal and fair country is going to turn into a nightmare. Because the only option for voters, if Dilma isn’t re-elected, is a right-wing government. These governments have never worked for Brazil, and I am convinced they never will.

Regardless of who wins the election, the protests are going to continue and are also going to get more intense. There are going to be issues around the World Cup. But these are all internal political arguments. None of them are driven by anger at tourists coming here to enjoy the event — you can be sure of that. Brazilians are not upset at the prospects of “gringos” visiting for a bit of fun. In fact, we really do like you, and you can experience that by coming here.

And for those who plan to come to the World Cup, don’t feel bad about financing all of this. The stadiums are already built, thousand of jobs have been created with this and a lot more is yet to come, with the large influx of tourists. The fate of the Brazilian people is not up to tourists. With all respect, this is not your responsibility. You don’t need to fix this. We, the Brazilian people — we do.

This is our responsibility.