RIO DE JANEIRO, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian government will ensure security in the FIFA World Cup, which will take place in 12 Brazilian cities in June, President Dilma Rousseff said on Wednesday.
According to the president, the government has beefed up security for the World Cup which will not be disturbed by violent episodes.
"We have improved our security tremendously. The armed forces will participate, we will use the Federal Police and the Federal Highway Police and we have partnerships with all state governors," she said, stressing the efforts on security in a meeting of the Council for Economic and Social Development, in Brasilia.
Rousseff said "the federal government will not agree with any kind of violence and we will not let the World Cup be contaminated," adding "it is an important moment for the country."
Last year, millions of Brazilians went to the streets in June to protest against poor public services, such as health care and education, corruption in politics, and high expenses for the World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, which will take place in Rio.
The protests occurred amid the FIFA Confederations Cup, and many of them took place in the vicinity of the stadiums, on game days. Most protests featured conflicts between protesters and the police; officers were often accused of abuse and excessive violence in their actions.
The possibility of new protests during the World Cup is widely regarded as quite high. Earlier this week, the Federal Police's coordinator for large events, Felipe Seixas, told local news portal G1 that it is certain there will be protests, but no one knows how large they will be.