????巴西是否做好了成為全球關注焦點的準備？

????舉辦2014年世界杯注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。

????“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?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。過去，中國、日本和韓國都曾經以舉辦體育盛事為契機，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。’”

????但鑒于世界杯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《圣保羅頁報》(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。

????挑戰之一是這項賽事的規模。舉辦世界杯的12座城市分布在一個美國那般大小的區域。相比之下，規模理應更大的2016年里約熱內盧奧運會被安排在同一個地方舉行。

????“這屆世界杯背后的想法是，讓整個國家分享足球的快樂，同時借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，我認為這可能是一個錯誤。”

????從20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。”

????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?安德里斯這樣說道。

????例如，在卡塔爾（這個海灣小國將承辦2022年世界杯），自從2012年1月份以來，已經有近1,000人死于建設事故。雖然卡塔爾政府表態稱，卡塔爾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。

????到目前為止，巴西已經出現了8起與世界杯相關的死亡事件。但安德里斯說，相比于卡塔爾，巴西政府一直在更加積極主動地解決這個問題。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，阻止它演變成一場大災難。”

????此外，巴西政府已經編撰了一份所謂的“臟名單”，曝光使用奴隸勞工的企業。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.