Politics of Brazil

In June 2013 mass demonstrations in Brazil exposed a wide gap between the aspirations and needs of the people and the programs of the social-democratic ruling parties of Brazil, the center-left Workers' Party and the centrist Brazilian Social Democracy Party. An emphasis on crowd-pleasing public works, circuses, such as stadiums for the 2014 World Cup, the 2016 Olympics, and a bid for the 2020 World's Fair combined with neglect of people's basic needs appeared to have backfired.