With the World Cup starting on Wednesday, Brazilians are at loggerheads with their government over the spending of at least R122 billion on preparations for the tournament.
A recent Pew Research Centre study found that six in 10 people surveyed in the South American country believed the World Cup was bad for the economy. The money could be better spent on hospitals and education, say many Brazilians, who have taken to the streets in protest.
In Sao Paulo, a World Cup host city, a strike by subway workers yesterday brought chaos to the commercial capital.
Hundreds of native Brazilians have staged protests, some threatening drivers at roadblocks with bows and arrows. Large numbers of indigenous people have been forcibly removed from their rainforest homes and many forced to become urbanised.
According to the government, 5 843km² of rainforest were estimated to have been lost to logging and agriculture between August 2012 and July.
Brazil is one of the top three beef exporters in the world.
The plight of the indigenous Brazilians is a subject close to the heart of graffiti artist Fabio “Cranio” Oliviera.
He is well known in his home city of Sao Paulo, a concrete jungle of 11.4 million people.
Oliviera, 32, got his nickname “Cranio” – which loosely translated means “skull” – from classmates who teased him because he was the smartest in the class.
His work tackles issues such as consumerism, political corruption and the daily struggles that people endure.
Native Americans and their conflict and compliance with globalisation are the subjects of many of his most trenchant works.
In one artwork an obese native is shown eating a burger from McDonald’s, one of the World Cup’s sponsors.
The drawings may at first glance seem humorous, but they are cutting social comments.
He explores and conveys the changes and tensions between these two worlds: one that of the modern lifestyle, and the another the rural and traditional way of life.
The contrast is illustrated by his portrayal of Brazilians in traditional dress grappling with the latest technology and gadgets.
“Some of them are trying to adapt. Others have adapted really well to capitalism. Others are trying to sell the Brazilian rainforest to grab money and cool iPhone,” said Oliviera.
The self-taught artist says that he has been drawing since he was two years old.
“I guess art it’s inside my blood,” he says on his website.
In 1998, aged 16, he began spray-painting on the walls of buildings in Sao Paulo, which has a strong graffiti culture.
His craft has been influenced by a number of artists, such as Os Gemeos, for whom he says he has a deep respect.
Oliviera also cites legendary Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali as among the people who inspire him.
His signature blue indigenous characters, which gives them an alien look, are the result of his search for characters that could express the indigenous people of Brazil.
“Blue is the main characteristic of my characters. It relates to the imaginary and parallel world in which they used to live,” he says on his website.
However, it has not been easy for Oliviera to practise his art.
“I’ve been arrested for graffiti. In Brazil even the police know what we are doing is considered art today. But if someone doesn’t like it, and they call the police, we get arrested and spend the night in jail.”
Oliviera said many Brazilians had learnt to accept the art form. In Rio de Janeiro, the mayor has legalised graffiti.
Oliviera’s work has been exhibited in Brazil, America, Paris and London.