The Brandeis International Business School sponsored an event titled "Global Protests, Local Realities: Understanding the Massive Brazilian Street Protests of 2013" last Tuesday.

Four panelists contributed different perspectives to the issue of recent protests in Brazil. The panelists were Elizabeth Leeds, a research affiliate for the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Prof. Richard Lockwood (Heller), Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Eneas International Ed Morata, and Executive Director of Brazilian Immigrant Center Natalicia Tracy.

According to Prof. Moises Lino e Silva (IGS), who moderated the event, it is important to think about how Brazilian protests compare and contrast to other protests in the world.

He spoke about Brazilian issues such as high costs of transportation, resource distribution in the Amazon and the rights and protections of minority groups that have sparked recent protests. Lino e Silva said that in Brazil, "it's not just about the bus fare, the Amazon, [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer] rights, indigenous rights and social inequality. It's about all of these at once."

He said it is important to think about Brazil because the country will be in the international spotlight soon, as this year's FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, both of which Brazil will be hosting, approach.

According to Leeds, the protests stemmed from frustrations voiced by a new middle class. "There's this whole class of people that doesn't benefit from Brazil's economic growth," she said.

She added that there is underemployment in Brazil, and that people claim Brazil is ignoring people's basic needs while spending millions of dollars on the World Cup and Olympics.

Morata assessed the issues from a business perspective. He emphasized that economic freedom and social freedom are not the same. Brazil has a lot of natural resources, he said, but that the financial gain from these resources should be transferred from the government to the population.

According to Tracy, a movement of this magnitude is unique. She spoke about how Brazil is perceived as a passive nation and how these protests question what Brazilians are capable of. "[The protests] shocked a lot of people," she said. She said that people in and out of Brazil realized that Brazil's middle class could have a voice.

Lockwood said it is interesting to note that despite the protests, Brazil is at a food surplus. He said that in many protests, food prices are one of the first things to be targeted. "Brazil has many issues, but access and the price of food is not one of them," he said.

"Despite the flaws, this is democracy in action," said Dean of IBS Bruce Magid, who provided closing remarks for the event. "People have a disposable income and food and are thinking past what a basic government should provide."

Magid said that he applauds Brazilians for looking at the country's needs. "Because of this dialogue, the country will move ahead," he said.