Comrades Here within is the brief discussion inputs on the Political Economy of
the 2010 FIFA World Cup and its implications to the working class as presented
in the last Siyakhuluma
Hasta seimpre la comandante
Socialismo o muerte
Dear Cdes
As Hope said in the
last Siyakhuluma, Soccer is the opium of the masses? The central message
of this article is whether we have our priorities right as a
country. Together with the arms deal, hosting Ms World pageants etc etc
we spend a huge amount of money on projects like these. Serious questions
are being asked by the working class in the country.
Enjoy
Selling South Africa:
Poverty, Politics and the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Chris
Webb
Why is it
that governments can find billions of dollars for global sporting events and
little to deal with the grinding poverty that affects impoverished populations?
Canada applauded itself for
the $135-million in aid and disaster relief it sent to an earthquake ravaged
Haiti while
spending nearly $6-billion on the two-week long Vancouver Olympics. A similar
contradiction is revealing itself in South Africa , where massive amounts
of public and private spending on the upcoming 2010 Soccer World Cup are
expected to salve a faltering economy and crippling poverty. Most South
Africans, however, will see little direct or sustained economic benefit from
the games let alone muster the funds to even purchase a ticket.
What is
trumpeted as a branding and investment remedy to South Africa ’s economic woes
may very well become another Greek tragedy – where the legacy of the 2004
Athens Olympics has contributed to an economic meltdown. These global games
offer dual incentives to both local and foreign business elites and little to a
frustrated local population. On the one hand, investment, sponsorship and
tourism opens new markets to foreign capital while local business elites profit
from a heightened global image. At least, this is the story sold by both the
state and World Cup planners. Central to this strategy is selling South Africa
as
a marketable and consumable brand.
The
transition from apartheid to democratic rule in South Africa has been well
documented. During this period, the pressures of both domestic and foreign
capital forced the emergent African National Congress (ANC) government to
follow the economic paradigms of the past and encourage foreign investment. The
sanctions that once crippled the economy gave way to a period of increasing
investment and relatively stable economic growth. Promoting a comfortable and
gentrified image of South Africa perfectly serves the ruling African
National Congress’s redistribution through growth policy that is intended
to drum up foreign investment while selling off government owned assets. The
Soccer World Cup effectively opens these economic and political spaces
necessary to further neoliberal policies and development.
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continue reading
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