Last night I had to fly form Brasilia (capital of Brazil) to Montevideo, to spend Christmas, New Year, and a bit more with my relatives. Living in Brasilia is very nice. The city is beautifully built. The arquitectural plan of the city is unique worldwide. The city was 100% planned and built from scratch about 45 years ago where there used to be just forests and not a single house. The place is so green that for those who love to jog or walk, there can't be a better place. The city is full of trees, and these trees are mangos, jackfruit trees, cajuns, avocados, mandarin trees, almonds, pitangas and others. You just need to walk some meters in your own block and choose the fruit you want to pick-up. It's as simple and natural as that! And, the people are kind, nice and educated as you can get in Brazil.. And the services of the city are good.
I left Brasilia via Sao Paulo. As you may well know, Sao Paulo is Brazil's main finance center and biggest city. And it's also the main airport hub for South-America. And if that were not enough, it's going to be the second main city to host the World Cup 2014 after Rio de Janeiro!
All this said, you would expect that the airport would at least acceptable, but it's as chaotic today (6 months prior to the World Cup) as it was 5 years ago. It's actually one of the worst important airports I've been to! Not only it lacks places where to sit down and eat or drink a coffee (mainly in the area around the gates, after you went through security-check), but the place is famous for those loooong queues where you have only one employee working and all the rest of the staff is doing nobody knows what. I don't say that they are just goofing around. It's just that there is a lack of organization. What works the best is the security-check. And in second place the migrations (although I recently was about to be fined by the federal police, because the girl in migrations hadn't stamped my passport and hadn't even register me in the system). At least, despite the airport is a mess, I have to concede that the whole staff is nice and amicable. Actually that is usually the case in Brazil, where spontaneous and friendly smiles are the norm.
But coming back to the airport, absolutely every time I have taken a flight from Guarulhos airport (Sao Paulo) to Montevideo, I had to queue at a gate had changed at the last moment. And they always assign to us a gate where people are packed on a corner, even sitting on the floor for lack of space (that's so far 100% of the times for me).
I'm never in transit when I fly via a Brazilian airport. I always have to leave and get in. And in the meantime, while waiting for the boarding time, before going through the security-check, you often don't find a place to sit down, unless it is beside the outer door (the exit of the airport). Recently I decided to sit on my luggage-cart while I browsed internet, and a girl from the airport staff told me I was not supposed to sit there, and I had to get a seat instead. So I asked her where I was to find a seat. And she, without knowing what better solution to provide suggested my to go down one level (to arrivals) and get a seat there! That's what I mean when I say this airport is a mess!
And it's not that this is the only bad airport in Brazil. They are usually quite unbelievable clumsy in the way they operate. The best of all I know is actually one from a much less important city: Porto Alegre.
So, while the government is supposed to grow and improve it's main airports in order to host the World Cup 2014, I and many others doubt that there will be enough time to leave them decently workable. I think I can guess why such lack of sense of urgency from the Brazilian government. Let me explain my theory below:
I honestly believe that the World Cup is the most important event that captivates more people around the world. The Olympics may have a longer history and more noble tradition, and may be more global. But they don't arouse so much passion worldwide as the World Cup. And, of course, who will deny today that Brazil is the Mecca of football or soccer, as will. This next World Cup will be unique in the sense that this time it'll be hosted in the Mecca of football. And if there is a proud people about their country, it is the Brazilians. But proud in the positive sense. Not like other countries, whose people become defensive out of hurt when they hear somebody offending their fatherland. I call that false pride, result of a sense of hurt. But the Brazilians are not hurt. They simply and honestly believe there is no country more beautiful and blessed by God than Brazil. And perhaps the are right.
So, while any other country hosting the World Cup would feel the sense of urgency to prepare a great event, with flawless organization, that may make them feel proud of their homeland in front of all the international visitors, in Brazil perhaps the know that no matter what will happen, any person unless he is out of his mind, he will enjoy the country. It is not competing about organization and impressive ceremonies, but… it is simply Brazil. However messy it may be, just take it as Carnival… and enjoy! You are at the Mecca of football!
Perhaps it's just my impression and I may be wrong. But I believe that in general this is a feeling that subsides in the idiosyncrasy of the country. And their sense of pride is more simple: it's simply the country blessed by God. They don't need so badly to set a show.
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