Tear gas in Sao Paulo
June 9, 2014
Sao Paulo subway workers wanting a 12 percent pay rise defied a labor court ban on Monday and extended their strike into a fifth day. Three more Cup teams were due to arrive in the tense metropolis - Costa Rica, Honduras and the US.
Protestors burned bags of rubbish to block entry to the city's downtown Ana Rosa station before riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse them.
Protestors chanted "there won't be a Cup, there will be a strike!" to back the subway workers' pay rise demand. Initially at 16.5 percent, the union has reduced it to 12.2 percent. The government is offering 8.7 percent.
Stadium station idle
The World Cup kicks off on Thursday as Brazil and Croatia face off at the Arena Corinthians stadium in the northern part of the sprawling city of 20 million.
On Monday, parts of the subway were active, but trains were not arriving at the stadium, where heads of state will attend Thursday's opening ceremony.
The subway strike follows large protests by homeless groups that have distracted the normally passionate football nation. Some 4.5 million people use Sao Paulo's subway system every day.
The teams of France, Cameroon, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Honduras and the United States are all due to arrive Monday in Brazil -- the latter three in Sao Paulo.
ipj/kms (AFP, Reuters)