????巴西是否做好了成為全球關(guān)注焦點(diǎn)的準(zhǔn)備？

????舉辦2014年世界杯注定會(huì)讓這個(gè)南美國(guó)家出盡風(fēng)頭。事實(shí)上，它已經(jīng)受到了極大的關(guān)注。但在準(zhǔn)備過(guò)程中，這個(gè)國(guó)家發(fā)現(xiàn)，備受矚目可能是一把雙刃劍。

????“這應(yīng)該是巴西的榮耀時(shí)刻，”康奈爾大學(xué)(Cornell University)約翰遜商學(xué)院(Johnson School)管理學(xué)高級(jí)講師、新書(shū)《一個(gè)新興全球大國(guó)的政治經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)：追尋巴西夢(mèng)》(The Political Economy of an Emerging Global Power: In Search of the Brazil Dream)的作者之一盧爾德?卡薩諾瓦說(shuō)。“巴西有機(jī)會(huì)展示，除了桑巴舞、狂歡節(jié)和海灘之外，他們還有許多獨(dú)特之處。過(guò)去，中國(guó)、日本和韓國(guó)都曾經(jīng)以舉辦體育盛事為契機(jī)，告訴全世界，‘我們來(lái)了，我們是你們中的一員。一個(gè)擁有體面基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家。’”

????但鑒于世界杯準(zhǔn)備階段出現(xiàn)了大規(guī)模的建設(shè)工期延誤，這種訊息聽(tīng)起來(lái)似乎越來(lái)越空洞。巴西《圣保羅頁(yè)報(bào)》(Folha de S. Paulo)日前報(bào)道稱(chēng)，距離開(kāi)賽不到一個(gè)月之際，大多數(shù)預(yù)期完成的項(xiàng)目還沒(méi)有交工。受工期超時(shí)影響的建設(shè)工程包括機(jī)場(chǎng)交通系統(tǒng)、快速公交車(chē)道、以及至少三個(gè)場(chǎng)館項(xiàng)目。

????挑戰(zhàn)之一是這項(xiàng)賽事的規(guī)模。舉辦世界杯的12座城市分布在一個(gè)美國(guó)那般大小的區(qū)域。相比之下，規(guī)模理應(yīng)更大的2016年里約熱內(nèi)盧奧運(yùn)會(huì)被安排在同一個(gè)地方舉行。

????“這屆世界杯背后的想法是，讓整個(gè)國(guó)家分享足球的快樂(lè)，同時(shí)借此機(jī)會(huì)全面改善巴西的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施，”卡薩諾瓦說(shuō)。“現(xiàn)在回想起來(lái)，我認(rèn)為這可能是一個(gè)錯(cuò)誤。”

????從20世紀(jì)80年代到2000年代中期，巴西政府一直在專(zhuān)心致志地償還外債，幾乎沒(méi)有投資建設(shè)基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施。“在不到10年的時(shí)間內(nèi)，如此大的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施欠賬根本不可能獲得解決。”

????交工期限的壓力往往會(huì)增加施工企業(yè)偷工減料的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，進(jìn)而導(dǎo)致不安全和不人道的工作條件。“舉辦這類(lèi)大型活動(dòng)時(shí)，出現(xiàn)強(qiáng)迫勞動(dòng)和奴隸般工作條件的可能性總是存在的，”聯(lián)合國(guó)國(guó)際勞工組織(ILO)打擊強(qiáng)迫勞動(dòng)特別行動(dòng)計(jì)劃(Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour)負(fù)責(zé)人貝亞特?安德里斯這樣說(shuō)道。

????例如，在卡塔爾（這個(gè)海灣小國(guó)將承辦2022年世界杯），自從2012年1月份以來(lái)，已經(jīng)有近1,000人死于建設(shè)事故。雖然卡塔爾政府表態(tài)稱(chēng)，卡塔爾將改善農(nóng)民工的生活水平，但這些事故造成的聲譽(yù)和生命損失已經(jīng)無(wú)法挽回。

????到目前為止，巴西已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)了8起與世界杯相關(guān)的死亡事件。但安德里斯說(shuō)，相比于卡塔爾，巴西政府一直在更加積極主動(dòng)地解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題。他剛剛結(jié)束對(duì)巴西的監(jiān)察查訪(fǎng)，返回美國(guó)。“巴西的檢查程序已經(jīng)明確了問(wèn)題所在，阻止它演變成一場(chǎng)大災(zāi)難。”

????此外，巴西政府已經(jīng)編撰了一份所謂的“臟名單”，曝光使用奴隸勞工的企業(yè)。這份名單上的雇主將被禁止參與政府合同。

????Is Brazil ready for the limelight?

????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.

????“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.’”

????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.

????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.

????“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.”

????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.”

????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.

????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.

????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.”

????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.