Brazilian Workers are Overworked:

     The FIFA World Cup is one of the most watched sporting events in the world. Thirty-two nations come together to play soccer and the entire world cheers on. The FIFA congress has a highly selective procedure to choose the host nation for this large event. In order for a country to be able to submit a bid to the congress, that nation must show that they have the infrastructure to allow millions of people to enjoy the games. These infrastructures include stadiums that can seat at least four hundred thousand people and one stadium that can seat eight hundred thousand, as well as large domestic and international airports, comfortable hotels, and efficient highways. Brazil, a third world nation, scrambled to show the world that they had these and began hiring construction crews to build the stadiums throughout Brazil. However the rural laborers that migrated to the larger cities in Brazil soon faced human rights violations. Men were forced to work eighty-four hours a week, which went against Brazilian labor laws. Workers had to carry large amounts of materials to heights of around fifty meters, and nine men fell to their death. A total of of sixty thousand construction work related accidents every year in preparation of the FIFA World Cup. Neither FIFA or Brazil has made any comment on the working conditions of the Brazilians. 

     I believe it is pathetic that the entire world has descended upon Brazil to enjoy sports but turn a blind eye to the human rights violations that occurred to construct the beautiful environment of the World Cup. The Brazilian government went against many of their own laws just to make sure the World Cup would be hosted in their state. The lives and conditions of the workers, many who are uneducated about their own rights, are much more important to the nation. I personally believe FIFA should have overlooked the construction process and reprimanded the Brazilian government. I have many family members in Brazil enjoying the World Cup and it is sickening that the lives of so many have been overlooked by the rest of the world. FIFA from now on should only allow more developed nations to host the World Cup who have long had the needed infrastructure to accommodate it. 

Link: http://www.aljazeera.com/humanrights/2014/07/world-cup-workers-struggle-basic-rights-2014738261599591.html