这届世界杯，巴西输不起

    400家私营企业联名签署了一项反对使用奴隶劳工的协议，安德里斯说，他们已经承诺抵制这种“脏企业”。“这是一个非常有效的体系，巴西政府的庄严态度由此可见一斑。它可以作为秘鲁和巴拉圭等周边国家学习的典范。”

    不过，仅凭政府的善意还不足以支配巴西人民的行为。针对腐败、劣质公共服务和利润分配不均的大规模街头抗议等问题已经让世界杯的准备工作陷入了泥沼。巴西足球传奇人物贝利在接受德国杂志《体育图片报》(Sport Bild)采访时称，世界杯准备工作“丢人现眼”，他指责“邪恶的人偷走了所有的钱。”

    康奈尔大学的卡萨诺瓦说，甚至在这场耗资140亿美元的盛事还没有开始前，巴西公众就已经发出了暴风骤雨般的反对声浪。“如果巴西存在一个共同的宗教，那就是足球。但最近的调查显示，超过一半的巴西人反对世界杯。共识已经瓦解。”

    巴西试图彰显自己作为一种经济增长替代模式的形象，但街头抗议活动使得这番雄心壮志面临特别严峻的挑战。“巴西拥有一套介于中国和美国之间的国家资本主义制度。为了让社会变得更加平等，中央政府已经采取了多种干预手段。多年来，这套制度还算奏效，。但现在，就连精英阶层也开始抱怨腐败和不平等问题。”

    撇开争议不谈，这届世界杯肯定不是已经注定了要失败的命运，以编撰国家品牌指数(Country Brand Index)著称的未来品牌战略咨询公司(FutureBrand)执行董事古斯塔沃•康尼斯奇泽尔这样说道。“是的，巴西政府应该更好地解释举办世界杯的好处。没错，在目前这种情况下，这并不是一件容易做到的事情。但至少人们正在讨论这件事，就纠正错误观念、改变叙事方式而言，这是一个很好的起点。要是没有人关注，解决问题的难度就会大得多。”

    康尼斯奇泽尔说，从国际上看，巴西已经开始收获举办世界杯的正面效应。在2013年拉美版国家品牌指数中，巴西位列首位，阿根廷和哥斯达黎加紧随其后。随着巴西不断加快奥运会的准备进程，这种影响只会进一步增大。“几乎可以保证的是，到2016年年底，巴西将出现在每个人的脑海之中。”

    卡萨诺瓦说，如此大规模的宣传活动特别有利于旅游业。他的家乡巴塞罗那曾经主办过1992年奥运会。“那场体育盛事彻底改变了我们国家的形象。主办奥运会前，西班牙仍然很难给自己贴上度假胜地的标签。现在，它是世界上最热门的旅行目的地之一。”（财富中文网）

    译者：叶寒

    A group of 400 private companies have committed to boycott such “dirty companies” as part of a pact against the use of slave labor, says Andrees. “It’s a very effective system that shows the seriousness of the Brazilian government…. It could serve as a model for neighboring countries, such as Peru and Paraguay.”

    The government’s best intentions have not been enough to sway the Brazilian people, though. The run up to the World Cup has been bogged down by massive street protests against corruption, the poor quality of public services, and the unequal distribution of profits. In an interview with German magazine Sport Bild, Brazilian football legend Pele has called the preparations “a disgrace,” blaming “the evil people who have stolen all the money.”

    The public backlash has rained on Brazil’s $14 billion parade even before it has started, says Cornell’s Casanova. “If Brazil has one common religion, it is soccer. Yet the latest surveys show that more than half of the population is against the World Cup. The consensus is broken.”

    The street protests are especially challenging for Brazil’s ambitions to present itself as an alternative model for economic growth, says Casanova. “Brazil has a system of state capitalism, something in between China and the United States, where the central government has intervened in a number of ways to make society more equal. It has worked for years, but now even the elites are complaining about corruption and inequality.

    Controversy aside, the event is certainly not doomed to fail, says Gustavo Koniszczer, managing director at branding firm FutureBrand, which compiles a Country Brand Index. “Yes, the Brazilian government should do a better job explaining the benefits, and yes, under these circumstances that is not going to be easy. But at least people are talking, which is a good starting point for correcting misconceptions and changing the narrative. It’s much harder to address the problem if nobody pays attention.”

    From an international point of view, Brazil is already enjoying some of the positive effects of organizing the World Cup, says Koniszczer. In the 2013 Latin American version of the Country Brand Index, Brazil ranks first, after Argentina and Costa Rica. The impact will only increase as the country prepares for the Olympics. “It pretty much guarantees that Brazil will be on everybody’s mind until the end of 2016.”

    Such massive publicity will particularly benefit tourism, says Casanova, who is originally from Barcelona, host of the 1992 Olympics. “That event changed the image of my country completely. Before the games, Spain still had trouble profiling itself as a vacation spot. Now, it is one of the top destinations in the world.”