Brazilian street artist’s iconic World Cup mural sends a powerful message

With just three weeks until the World Cup commences in Brazil, a powerful piece of artwork painted above a school in Pompeia has sparked much attention.

The mural, painted by Brazilian street artist Paulo Ito, was posted to Facebook on May 10 and has since spread quickly across the Internet.

The post gained heavy attention when YouTube channel TV Revolta, as well as actor and director Giovanni Vernia re-posted the image and dubbed it with this caption: “Graffiti in Sao Paulo, Brasil, for the upcoming world cup. Perfect summary.” The image was then shared more than 50,000 times, making Ito’s message even stronger.

With the World Cup costing Brazil $11 billion dollars, this satirical piece by Paulo Ito certainly raised a few eyebrows. Ito was simply trying to send the message that the situation in Brazil is very serious, yet the country is willing to dish out that kind of money to host an event such as this one.

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“The truth is there is so much wrong in Brazil that it is difficult to know where to start,” said Ito. “I didn’t mean [to say] nobody is doing anything against poverty. But we need to show the world or ourselves that the situation is still not good.”

According to BuzzFeed, there are many Brazilians that did not want the World Cup to be hosted in their country because money that is being used to build huge stadiums could have been better spent to improve health care, safety, and education.

Ito stands by his ‘brutally honest’ painting, as he believes the image of the visibly hungry boy he painted depicts a good representation of what is actually happening in Brazil.

Tempers were high last summer over Brazil’s broken health care system and when bus fares then increased as well, protestors snapped. They began to light garbage fires in the middle of the streets to show the government, and the world, that they had had enough.

Money spent on hosting the World Cup will inevitably bring money in, but at what cost? The Brazil World Cup is shaping up to be the most expensive World Cup in history, in a country that can barely afford food for their young. It doesn’t make much sense.

For a quick look at how Brazil has spent the $11 billion, check out a detailed description here, via Fox News Latino.

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