Brazilian police crack down on pre-World Cup protest

Police in Sao Paulo fired tear gas Monday to disperse protesters supporting a subway strike that has unleashed transport chaos three days before the Brazilian mega-city hosts the World Cup kick-off. A group of about 150 strikers and protesters set fire to piles of garbage to block a central avenue in the business hub, prompting two-dozen riot police to use stun grenades and then tear gas to disperse them. Police detained 13 strikers who had entered a central subway station, but the other demonstrators regrouped with chants of "there won't be a Cup, there will be a strike!" The protest grew to about 1,000 people, who marched to the state transport secretariat waving red banners, banging drums and blowing whistles and vuvuzelas. Protest leaders delivered speeches blasted from a sound truck outside the transport offices as around 50 riot police with shields guarded the entrances. The demonstrators are backing a five-day-old walkout by subway workers, the latest in a wave of protests and strikes that has swept Brazil ahead of the World Cup and elections in October. The walkout has posed a major headache for commuters in the sprawling city of 20 million people, and threatens to disrupt transportation plans for Thursday's opening match, when the world's eyes will be on Brazil. Around a billion people worldwide are expected to watch the game on TV, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and 12 heads of state and government will be in the stadium to see Brazil play Croatia. World Cup teams, meanwhile, continue arriving in Brazil, with reigning champions Spain touching down Sunday night. France, Cameroon, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Honduras and the United States are all arriving Monday -- the latter three in Sao Paulo. - Union defiant - The latest clashes came four days after police fired tear gas at strikers inside a central station. The metropolitan transport authority said it had fired around 60 strikers for "just cause." Officials accused them of vandalism, blocking commuters and inciting people to jump turnstiles. Union president Altino Melo dos Prazeres warned that the sackings would "inflame" tensions, but the government and the strikers agreed to meet later Monday. The union has reduced an initial demand for a 16.5-percent wage hike to 12.2 percent, but the government is offering only 8.7 percent. A labor court ruled Sunday that the strike was illegal and imposed a $222,000 fine for every day it continues, but the union voted to press on with the walkout. Some 4.5 million people use the subway daily, and it is the main transport link to Corinthians Arena, which will host the World Cup opening ceremony and match. Only part of the five-line subway has been operating, forcing commuters to take a suburban train to reach the arena. Prazeres said he was confident the strikers had the upper hand. "I don't believe the government wants to thwart this Cup," he told AFP. Rising inflation and a sluggish economy have tarnished the World Cup glow in Brazil, fueling the anger of strikers and protesters who say the $11-billion budget would have been better spent on education, health and transport. "The strike will last until the World Cup if necessary," said Arthur Lessa, a 24-year-old subway worker, who said many colleagues struggle to make ends meet. - Unfinished stadium - Authorities are keen to resolve the latest labor dispute and avoid further embarrassment in a World Cup hit by delays and cost overruns even before it has started. The 61,600-capacity Corinthians Arena has become a symbol of the problems besetting the tournament. At the weekend, workers were still racing to finish the over-budget and chronically-delayed stadium. Work on the 12 host stadiums has also been overshadowed by accidents that have killed eight workers, including three at Corinthians. President Dilma Rousseff, who is seeking reelection in October, insists the money spent on the tournament will leave a lasting legacy of modernized transport infrastructure. But many of the promised projects have been shelved, adding to protesters' anger. Last year during the Confederations Cup, a World Cup dress rehearsal, more than a million people flooded the streets, some trashing property and clashing with police. Recent protests have been smaller, but activists are vowing to revive last year's "Tropical Spring" during the World Cup.