Today’s Google Doodle highlights Brazil’s favelas, the stacked buildings in the slums of the country that house millions of Brazilians, highlighting the huge controversy surrounding FIFA holding the costly tournament in the impoverished nation.
The Doodle, sketched by artist Matt Cruickshank, sees the letters forming the name of the search engine being given the appearance of the deceptively colorful buildings that, according to a survey conducted in 2012, are home to 11.4 million people. The sketch shows the letter ‘L’ kicking a football against one of the buildings which, given what we know of the favelas, make for a very melancholic Doodle indeed.
Thus far Google has released daily Doodles in celebration of the World Cup 2014 tournament, but this one is a stark reminder of the continued suffering of Brazil’s citizens whilst FIFA erects new stadiums in the middle of a country that doesn’t need any more money sapped from its empty wallet. John Oliver already dissected the “cartoonishly evil” FIFA in a segment on his show Last Week Tonight, but hopefully the World Cup 2014 leads to the spotlight being placed on the dirty deeds of the organization more than ever.
Though this Google Doodle may not be a political statement, it’s certainly raising awareness of just how messed up it is that such an expensive event is being held in a country that has a chunk of its population dying from starvation.
