無利不起早 這屆世界盃巴西輸不起大綱

Is Brazil ready for the limelight?
巴西是否做好了成爲全球關注焦點的準備？

Organizing the 2014 World Cup is assured to generate massive amounts of publicity for the South American nation. In fact, it already has. But amid the preparations, the country has already discovered that the limelight can be a double-edged sword.
舉辦2014年世界盃註定會讓這個南美國家出盡風頭。事實上，它已經受到了極大的關注。但在準備過程中，這個國家發現，備受矚目可能是一把雙刃劍。

“This should be Brazil’s moment of glory,” says Lourdes Casanova, a senior lecturer of management at Cornell University’s Johnson School and co-author of the recently published The Political Economy of an Emerging Global Power: In Search of the Brazil Dream. “It has an opportunity to show there is more to it than samba, carnival, and beaches. In the past, countries like China, Japan, and Korea have used events like these as a way to tell the world, ‘Here we are, we are one of you. A developed country with the infrastructure that comes with it.’”
“這應該是巴西的榮耀時刻，”康奈爾大學(Cornell University)約翰遜商學院(Johnson School)管理學高級講師，、新書《一個新興全球大國的政治經濟學：追尋巴西夢》(The Political Economy of an Emerging Global Power: In Search of the Brazil Dream)的作者之一盧爾德o卡薩諾瓦說。“巴西有機會展示，除了桑巴舞，、狂歡節和海灘之外，他們還有許多獨特之處。在過去，中國、日本和韓國都曾經以舉辦體育盛事爲契機，告訴全世界，‘我們來了，我們是你們中的一員。一個擁有體面基礎設施的發達國家。’”

But with massive construction delays in the run-up to the event, that message seems to sound increasingly hollow. Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported recently that less than one month before kick-off, the majority of the intended projects were unfinished. Time overruns have affected airport transportation systems, fast bus lanes, and no less than three stadium projects.
但鑑於世界盃準備階段出現了大規模的建設工期延誤，這種訊息聽起來似乎越來越空洞。巴西《聖保羅頁報》(Folha de S. Paulo)日前報道稱，距離開賽不到一個月之際，大多數預期完成的項目還沒有交工。受工期超時影響的建設工程包括機場交通系統，、快速公交車道，、以及至少三個場館項目。

Part of the challenge is the sheer scale of the event. The World Cup is hosted by 12 cities that spread out over an area that is roughly the size of the United States. By contrast, the 2016 Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, arguably an even bigger event, is organized in just one location.
挑戰之一是這項賽事的規模。舉辦世界盃的12座城市分佈在一個美國那般大小的區域。相比之下，規模理應更大的2016年裏約熱內盧奧運會被安排在同一個地方舉行。

“The idea behind the World Cup was to let the whole country share in it, while providing an opportunity to improve its infrastructure across the board,” says Casanova. “In retrospect, I think that might have been a mistake.”
“這屆世界盃背後的想法是，讓整個國家分享足球的快樂，同時藉此機會全面改善巴西的基礎設施，”卡薩諾瓦說。“現在回想起來，我認爲這可能是一個錯誤。”

From the 1980s to the mid-2000s, the Brazilian government was so immersed in paying off its foreign debt that it barely invested in infrastructure, says Casanova. “That deficit cannot be solved in less than 10 years.”
從198020世紀80年代到2000年代中期，巴西政府一直在專心致志地償還外債，幾乎沒有投資建設基礎設施。“在不到10年的時間內，如此大的基礎設施欠賬根本不可能獲得解決。”

Deadline pressure increases the risk of construction companies cutting corners, leading to unsafe and inhumane working conditions. “With mega events like these, there is always a chance that people end up in forced labor and slave-like conditions,” says Beate Andrees, head of the Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour at the International Labour Organization (ILO), an agency of the United Nations.
交工期限的壓力往往會增加施工企業偷工減料的風險，進而導致不安全和不人道的工作條件。“舉辦這類大型活動時，出現強迫勞動和奴隸般工作條件的可能性總是存在的，”聯合國國際勞工組織(ILO)打擊強迫勞動特別行動計劃(Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour)負責人貝亞特o安德里斯這樣說道。

For instance, in the tiny Gulf state of Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup, almost 1,000 people have died in construction related-accidents since January 2012. The Qatari government has since indicated it will improve the living standards of its migrant workers, but the reputation damage (and loss of life) has been done.
例如，在卡塔爾（這個海灣小國將承辦2022年世界盃），自從2012年1月份以來，已經有近1,000人死於建設事故。雖然卡塔爾政府表態稱，該國這個國家將改善農民工的生活水平，但這些事故造成的聲譽和生命損失已經無法挽回。

In Brazil so far, there have been eight World Cup-related deaths. But compared to Qatar, the government has been much more responsive in addressing the problem, says Andrees, who just returned from a monitoring visit to the country. “Its inspection programs have identified the issue and prevented it from becoming a major disaster.”
到目前爲止，巴西已經出現了8起與世界盃相關的死亡事件。但安德里斯說，相比於卡塔爾，巴西政府一直在更加積極主動地解決這一個問題，安德里斯說。他剛剛結束對巴西的監察查訪，返回美國。“巴西的檢查程序已經明確了問題所在，並且阻止了它演變成一場大災難。”Additionally, the Brazilian government has compiled a so-called ‘dirty list’ that publicly identifies companies using slave labor. Employers on the list will be banned from government contracts.
此外，巴西政府已經編撰了一份所謂的“髒名單”，以曝光使用奴隸勞工的企業。這份名單上的僱主將被禁止參與政府合同。

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.”
400傢俬營企業聯名簽署了一項反對使用奴隸勞工的協議，安德里斯說，他們已經承諾要抵制這種“髒企業”，安德里斯說。“這是一個非常有效的體系，巴西政府的莊嚴態度由此可見一斑。它可以作爲祕魯和巴拉圭等周邊國家學習的典範。”

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.”
不過，僅憑政府的善意還不足以支配巴西人民的行爲。針對腐敗、劣質公共服務和利潤分配不均的大規模街頭抗議等問題，已經讓世界盃準備工作陷入了泥沼。巴西足球傳奇人物貝利在接受德國雜誌《體育圖片報》(Sport Bild)採訪時，巴西足球傳奇人物貝利聲稱，世界盃準備工作“丟人現眼”，他指責“邪惡的人偷走了所有的錢。”

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.”
康奈爾大學的卡薩諾瓦說，甚至在這場耗資140億美元的盛事還沒有開始前，巴西公衆就已經發出了暴風驟雨般的反對聲浪，康奈爾大學的卡薩諾瓦說：。“如果巴西有存在一個共同的宗教，那就是足球。但最近的調查顯示，超過一半的巴西人反對世界盃。共識已經瓦解。”

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.
巴西試圖彰顯自己作爲一種經濟增長替代模式的形象，但街頭抗議活動使得這番雄心壯志面臨特別嚴峻的挑戰。“巴西擁有一套介於中國和美國之間的國家資本主義制度。爲了讓社會變得更加平等，中央政府已經採取了多種干預手段。多年來，這套制度還算奏效，。但現在，就連精英階層也開始抱怨腐敗和不平等問題。”

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.”
撇開爭議不談，這屆世界盃肯定不是已經註定了要失敗的命運，以編撰國家品牌指數(Country Brand Index)著稱的未來品牌戰略諮詢公司(FutureBrand)執行董事古斯塔沃o康尼斯奇澤爾這樣說道。“是的，巴西政府應該更好地解釋舉辦世界盃的好處。沒錯，在目前這種情況下，這並不是一件容易做到的事情。但至少人們正在談論討論這件事，就糾正錯誤觀念，、改變敘事方式而言，這是一個很好的起點。要是沒有人關注，解決問題的難度就會大得多。”

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.”
康尼斯奇澤爾說，從國際上看，巴西已經開始收穫舉辦世界盃的正面效應，康尼斯奇澤爾說。在2013年拉美版國家品牌指數中，巴西位列首位，阿根廷和哥斯達黎加緊隨其後。隨着巴西不斷加快奧運會的準備進程，這種影響只會進一步增大。“幾乎可以保證的是，到2016年年底，巴西將出現在每個人的腦海之中。”

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.”
卡薩諾瓦說，如此大規模的宣傳活動特別有利於旅遊業，卡薩諾瓦說。他的家鄉巴塞羅那曾經主辦過1992年奧運會。“那場體育盛事徹底改變了我們國家的形象。主辦奧運會前，西班牙仍然很難給自己貼上度假勝地的標籤。現在，它是世界上最熱門的旅行目的地之一。”