Rio de Janeiro (2 July 2014) - The preventive and integrated model adopted by Brazil for the protection of foreign consumers during the 2014 FIFA World Cup has attracted interest by Russia, which will host the next World Cup in 2018. 

“Undoubtedly, the World Cup is a success. We have been invited to share our experiences,” said Juliana Pereira da Silva, Secretary of the Brazilian National Consumer Protection Secretariat (Senacon) of the Ministry of Justice, during a press conference today at the João Saldanha Open Media Centre in Rio de Janeiro. 

One of the highlights of the Brazilian experience is the Integrated Center for Foreign Consumer Protection, a special service created specifically to operate during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. The Integrated Center, a partnership created in April 2013 between the federal government and states, municipalities and market representatives with the mandate to act preemptively in order to protect and ensure the rights of consumers quickly and effectively during the event.

Under this system, consumers receive protection for their transactions with all main sectors of tourism, including air and ground transportation, hospitality, food, healthcare and telecommunications. In the event of a claim, the consumer protection agency of the relevant host city is the first to be activated, and will attempt to mediate the conflict locally. If the conflict is not resolved at the local level, Senacon, as Executive Director of the Integrated Center, will act on the matter as appropriate with the help of any necessary technical resources. 

Another initiative developed for the World Cup is the Technical Committee for Consumption and Tourism, which monitors matters related to consumer protection for national and foreign tourists. Different agencies support monitoring at the local level near stadiums and airports. The actions of the Committee will continue after the World Cup and apply to the 2016 Olympic Games as well.

In addition, Senacon, in partnership with Embratur (the Brazilian Tourism Board), has launched the "Foreign Consumer Guide" in Portuguese, English and Spanish to provide guidance to tourists and information about their rights.

According to Secretary da Silva, most of the incidents recorded during the World Cup have been isolated ones. Only two major cases have been brought to the Center so far, both involving foreign companies. In one case, a Colombian travel agency left more than 300 consumers without hotel vouchers; in another, a U.S.-based airline, acting irregularly, caused hardship to more than 500 foreigners in Recife. The problems were resolved for the consumers and the cases were referred to Colombia's consumer protection agency and to the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), respectively.

In addition to Senacon, the Integrated Center and the Committee are also joined by a number of federal government bodies, including the Ministry of Tourism, the Civil Aviation Secretariat, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Transport, Embratur, the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company (Infraero), ANAC, the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) and the National Ground Transportation Agency (ANTT).

With more than two decades of specific legislation aimed at consumer protection, Brazil has already served as a model for Uruguay and is currently discussing collaborations with Peru. The country is also discussing bilateral cooperation agreements on consumer protection with South Korea, Germany and Portugal.  Moreover, Brazil brought the theme of tourist consumers to the Hague, with support from China and other countries in Latin America. The country has excelled in the region due to the broad infrastructure put in place to ensure consumers are protected.

“Brazil has consumer protection agencies in every state, as well as approximately 800 local authorities in the municipalities, an integrated center and a centralized database,” said Secretary da Silva.

Brazil’s infrastructure for consumer protection also includes a newly-launched web portal (www.consumidor.gov.br), which functions as an alternative channel to resolve disputes between consumers and providers of goods and services. The portal will begin disclosing data on the Brazilian market within 60 days. The data will show “who provides [goods and services], how they provide them, and how fast they provide them,” said the Secretary.

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For more information, visit:
www.copa2014.gov.br/cam (Portuguese)
www.copa2014.gov.br/en/cam (English)

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