I'm Michael Winship. This is a Moyers & Company, Podcast Extra.

I'm talking with Dave Ziron, who's the sports editor of the Nation magazine, also an author,

journalist, commentator. His newest book is Brazil's Dance with the Devil, the World Cup, the Olympics, and the Fight for Democracy.

He's in Rio now at the World Cup.

Dave, it seems to me that there were protests before the London Olympics two years ago

and lots of stories about cost overruns and improprieties,

but once the games actually began, a lot of the anger seemed to dissipate.

And the same thing seemed to happen in Soshi.

What's the mood like there?

Well, first of all, we should be clear that the demonstrations in Brazil, throughout

Brazil, far, far advance or in advance of anything that we saw in London

or anything that certainly that we saw in Russia or Sochi.

And frankly, they're in advance of anything we've seen before any mega event, arguably

in history.

I mean, you have to go back to 1968, Mexico City Olympics to find even the slightest parallel.

I mean, every sector of Brazil's economy has been on some form of strike.

I'm in Rio right now.

All of the museums are closed because all the cultural workers are on strike.

Protests a year ago around the Confederations Cup, which is like a warm-up to the World

Cup, brought well over a million people into the streets, the largest demonstrations.

Brazil is seen since the dictatorship.

But your question really is about now that the games have started, has all of that dissipated.

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