United against corruption? Protests in Brazil
Brazil has been rocked by a series of seemingly never-ending scandals in recent years, the latest of which involves the meat packing sector.
The probe into the industry, which, among other things, revealed that rotten meat was being declared fit for consumption, has dealt a heavy blow to exports. The EU, China and South Korea all imposed a temporary freeze on imports from the South American giant last week, causing the value of meat exports to decline from $63,000,000 to $74,000 in just one day. This is a substantial blow for Brazil; the sale of beef, pork and poultry accounts for 15% of all exports and has been one of the few sectors that has thrived despite a deep recession over the past two years.
The scandal will taint the reputation of Brazil’s meat industry, which employs about 6 million people both at home and abroad. Because of this, public anger is increasingly turning against the judiciary and the federal police who launched the investigation.
Brazilians will take to the streets on Sunday to voice their anger at widespread corruption. Whether their voices will be heard is another question entirely.
