Brazil: Sao Paulo monorail construction accident kills man

Police in Brazil's biggest city say a construction accident on a monorail meant to expand the city's metro network killed a worker Monday, tragically underscoring some of Brazil's infrastructure failures just days ahead of the World Cup kickoff.

The victim was hit by a large concrete support beam that fell while being erected. An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway. It occurred near Brazil's busiest domestic airport of Congonhas.

The accident came the same day a five-day strike which paralyzed Sao Paulo's subway system was temporarily suspended. The workers will meet Wednesday, the day before Sao Paulo is to host the opening match of the World Cup, to decide whether to continue to strike.

Originally, the expansion of the metro system was meant to be completed before the World Cup to help fans move around the congested city. But in 2011, just a year after construction began, the government already warned it wouldn't be ready in time for the Cup.

Other networks of transportation are equally ill prepared to handle the stream of tourists descending on the country.

Only a quarter of the new $1.3 billion international terminal at Brazil's largest airport, Sao Paulo's Guarulhos, is operational. Many travelers will deplane into a dim terminal with concrete architecture dating from the military dictatorship of three decades ago.

A recent Pew Research Poll said six of 10 Brazilians feel it was a bad idea to host the World Cup because it has diverted money from health care and education.

For most travel in Brazil, flying is the only practical choice. Brazil is the largest country in Latin America, and there are no passenger rail connections, not even for the 260-mile stretch between its two largest cities, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. 

Wire services