The mood in Brazil is sour. With the much-coveted World Cup games less than a month away, it is hard to find the joy among Brazilians about this upcoming global event. The absence of visual displays promoting the games in cities like Rio de Janeiro further underscores the lack of enthusiasm that accompanies this event. Workers at the newly rebuilt airport in Brasilia, the nation’s capital, are still scrambling to complete the signs and unveil the newest parts of that city’s airport. The people movers lay dormant as travelers now drag suitcases long distances to the airport’s older exit.

It would not be far-fetched to compare the current state of Brazilians’ disenchantment with their own government with the mixed emotions that its government feels for the United States. The relationship between the United States and Brazil has reached a low point that started last spring when Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, revealed that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s cellphone had been tapped. This incident, which led to the Brazilian leader canceling a state visit and shunning entreaties from President Obama, made it clear that the on again, off again affair with the U.S. was over.

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Photo credit: luciano.silva via flickr