1. Rio de Janeiro: the World Cup, the Olympics and the
Favelas
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro: the World Cup, the Olympics and the
Favelas
Author: stephenl
Earlier today, ESPN.com published an article by Wright Thompson in which the author exposes
the social crisis that the organizers of the World Cup and the Summer Olympics are hoping to
neglect.
Every big city in the world has two sides to show. Not even the Dubai municipality escapes this
truth.
But it seems as if there are very few cities in the world where the division between the outcasts
and that of the economically privileged citizens is more latent and entangled as in Rio de
Janeiro.
The legendary beaches of Copacabana fill the pages of what Brazil wants the world to know
about its largest city. White sand beaches and clear blue tropical waters at the disposal of the
beautiful people lucky enough to bath under the sun; the perfect scenario for movie festivals,
fashion shows and an epic Rolling Stones concert. The 2016 Olympic game planners have
prepared an 19-page brochure describing the beauty and the prosperity that hosting the games
will bring to the city. It mentions programs for educating the children, uplift the economy and
even goes on with an eco-friendly clip about protecting the world’s largest urban forest.
1/3

2. Photos of pristine beaches, blueprints of new stadiums, and other modern facilities to host the
fans and the athletes and the delegations, they are all there in the brochures. Not a single word
about the favelas, about those dense urban slums that climb up into the steep hills of Rio. Not a
word about those precarious communities that exist outside of civilized society. A little fewer
than one thousand favelas flourish and decay in the hills of the city.
Ipanema beach
Their habitants are just a couple kilometers away from what many consider to be quite close to
paradise, but they are mere spectators of the comedy, the luxury and the extravaganza of
another Sin City. The decisions that are made in the city affects them directly, and yet they
don’t seem to have any sort of participation, any voice.
The favelas, like Thompson points out, are the dirty conscience of Rio de Janeiro. It’s habitants
are confined in an area without formal education, without the protection of police and no social
services.
There are very few opportunities available in the favelas. Drug trafficking, prostitution and
smuggling are two of the more lucrative outsources. This disparity is only mesmerized with
violence. In 2010, Rio de Janeiro reported th 4,798 murders.
2/3

3. That’s about a fourth the number of murders annually in the entire United States. To put things
into the right perspective, consider that there are 6 million citizens in Rio. The US population is
about 300 million people.
So what does this means for the World Cup organizers? Again, like Thompson mentioned in his
article, “Rio has less than three years to fix a crisis a century in the making.”
And there is no answer to the violence. The favelas, some just miles away from the legendary
Maracana stadium, that will not only host World Cup games but be where the inaugural
ceremony of the Olimpics take place, are run by drug lords and violent traffickers. The
government has responded with military presence and the incursion of NAVY SEALS-like
military personal and special police brigades on missions to kill drug traffickers. And much
anything else that moves or dares to get in their way.
The favelas have been war zones. And nothing that has been done up to this point could
prevent this two conflicting sides of the city to erupt just when the city hosts the two sporting
events that call in the biggest audiences.
Article Source:
http://www.articlesbase.com/extreme-sports-articles/rio-de-janeiro-the-world-cup-the-olympics-a
nd-the-favelas-4762067.html
About the Author
Stephen Lars is a prominent sports blogger and currently covers the Sports news, previews and
handicaps for the BetIAS’ Sports Betting Blog . You may reprint this article in its full content,
please note no modifications to it are accepted.
3/3
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)