Question about mega-events for Lula

(This morning there was a collective interview for the foreign journalists in Brazil with President Lula. My question made it into the list and I was able to get it across to him. For the moment I am going to leave the question and response up here without my commentary as there are many other questions that he responded to that I am going to weave into a larger post.)

A couple of notes to contetualize the question and response. 1) BNDES, the National Development Bank, is providing R$400 million in sub-prime loans to states who are building World Cup stadiums. 2) Any and all materials having to do with the World Cup are exempt from import taxes and employees are expempt from income taxes. This is a requirement of FIFA and one that several Dutch and  Belgium PMs called attention to, undoubtedly blasting huge holes in their bid for the World Cup 3) Brazil has passed multiple laws at all levels of government that allow for the 'dribbling' of constitutional processes that would interfere with the expediencies required to host mega-events. 4) Lula is the head of the Worker's Party which formerly represented the political left in Brazil.

Pergunta Para Lula ; Question for Lula

Em 2007 seu governo, atravez do ministerio do esporte, guarantiu que não haverá dineiro publico para construir estádios pela copa do mundo. Hoje em dia o governo está disposto gastar bilhões nos estádios alem de dar isensão fiscal a todo que tem que ver com a Copa, qual é um evento privado de FIFA. Em 2009, o senhor assinou um contrato com COI  garantindo R$29 bilhões pela realização dos Jogos Olímpicos no Rio. Para realizar esse eventos é preciso altera leis nacionais, estaduais e municipais para permitir que esses eventos se-realizam. Na face dos grandes prejuiços que sofreram Grecia e Africa do Sul depois dos mega-eventos é possivel que os mega-eventos vão atropelhar processos democraticos e aumenta desigualidades sociais no Brasil?

In 2007 your government, via the Minister of Sport, guaranteed that there would not be any public money spent on World Cup stadiums. Today, the government is prepared to spend billions on the stadiums in addition to giving full tax exemption to everything that has to do with the World Cup, which is a private event run by FIFA. In 2009, you signed a contract with the IOC guaranteeing R$29 billion for the realization of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. To carry off these events, it is necessary to alter federal, state, and municipal laws. In the face of the economic damages that Athens and South Africa suffered after mega-events, is it possible that mega-events are going to harm democratic processes and increase social inequalities in Brazil?

Resposta ; Response

Se a Copa do Mundo fosse tããão desastrosa economicamente, não teria tanta gente atras dela. (ironicamente)

If the World Cup was such a financial disaster there wouldn’t be so many people after it. (ironically).

Todo pais deveria fazer uma Copa do Mundo não é apenas uma cuestao de dinheiro porque é um espectáculo que da dimensão a um pais. O que a gente ve quando vemos o que aconteceu na China, em quanto conheciamos a China antes e quando connheciamos depois?

Every country should host a World Cup and it is not merely a question of money because it is a spectacle tat gives an added dimension to a country. What did we see when we saw what happened in China, how much did we know about China before [the Olympics] and how much did we know after?

O governo não está colocado dinheiro publico. O governo abriu uma linha de financiamento à cada estado que de responsibilidade de cuidar dos estádios porque os proprios governadores apresentavam os projectos para poder conquistar o direito cediar a Copa do Mundo. O que nos fizemos foi colocar a disposição do cada estado uma quantia em dinheiro financiado pelo Banco nacional de desenvolvimento. Por tanto o governador vai pegar o seu dinheiro e vai contrair um empréstimo e vai pagar.

The government is not spending public money. The government opened a line of financing for every state that is taking responsibility for building the stadiums because it was the governors of the state that presented the projects in order to conquer the right to host the World Cup. What we did was to place at the disposition of every state a quantity of money financed by the National Development Bank (BNDES) [R$400 million per stadium]. From there, each governor can take their money, assume the loan and then pay it back.

E obviamente nos interesse baratear o custo das coisas para que a copa do mundo será o mais barata que..o seja. Acho que e incompensible que tenha pessoas que faça a vida inteira dizendo que nos fizemos reduzir impostos, reduzir impostos, reduzir impostos...quando a gente redizimos impostos, quando a gente reduz impostos pra fazer um estádio as pessoas falam que o Estado está perdendo.

It’s obvious that it interests us to keep the costs low so that the Cup will be as cheap as possible. That is, I think that it’s incomprehensible that we have people that go their entire lives saying that we need to reduce taxes, reduce taxes, reduce taxes, and when we reduce taxes to build a stadium people say that the state is losing out.

O mundo deveria ter copiado o Brasil. O Brasil foi o primeiro pais a tomar todas as medidas anti-cíclicas que foram tomadao depois pela China, e ai rediuzimos impostos para o povo poder comprar uma escada, para o povo comprar mais carro, para o povo comprar a geladeira, para o povo comprar uma maquina de lavar, para o povo comprar uma televisão. Reduzimos tantos impostos de construção civil. Então, é importante que a gente reduze impostos para a construcao dessas obras que depois que depois de estiverem prontas elas vao ser motivo de aumento da arrecadacao do proprio estado seja o estado, seja a cidade, e seja a União.

The world should have copied Brazil. Brazil was the first country to take all of the anti-cyclical measures that were taken after by China. We reduced taxes so that people could buy a ladder, but a car, buy a refrigerator, buy a washing machine, buy a television. We reduced civil construction taxes a lot. It is therefore important that we reduce the taxes [and tariffs] for the construction of these projects so that after they are ready they will be able to contribute to the increase in the receipts of the state, city, or country.

Vamos fazer uma extraordinaria copa do mundo. Eu tenho certeza absoluta que cada entity federativo vai cumprir com a suas obrigações. E que vamos fazer uma copa do mundo exemplar e que espera que muita gente vieram aqui para ver de o que estamos capaz.

We are going to have an extraordinary World Cup. I have absolute certainty that all of the federal entities are going to meet their obligations. We are going to put on an exemplary World Cup and I hope that a lot of people come here to see what we are capable of.

O que não pode acontecer e o Brasil perder a Copa do Mundo aqui no Maracanã como foi em cinquenta, vai ser um disastre economico. E vamos nos preparar para que Brasil seja campeão.

What can’t happen is that Brazil loses the World Cup in the Maracanã like we did in 1950, it will be an economic disaster. We are going to prepare ourselves so Brazil becomes champion.