Hello folks. Just found this vid on the net. In a case if someone plann to visit the olympic game 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlTENoO6l5E
What do you think now about Ku Klux Klan now?
IDK what you mean with the KKK comment, but Brazil is an impoverished place where until recently the police summarily executed the street urchinsâŚ
In a way, I am surprised that the Rio Olympics have gone so well - so far at least. The International Olympic Committee has admitted that these Olympics have proved to be the âmost difficultâ of modern times, citing political difficulties in the country and somewhat belated administrative and infrastructure arrangements on the part of the Brazilian authorities (late finishes of some venues, lack of toilets, etc.). Still, everything seems to have come together in the end.
There was a certain logic in allocating the Olympics (and the preceding soccer World Cup) to Brazil at the time. Then, Brazil was, in its own terms, pretty stable politically. Also, its economy was booming, promoting Brazil into a leading political player among the âdevelopingâ states on the world stage. Against that, the strength of the economy as a whole did nothing to relieve social and regional inequalities in the country - quite the opposite (nothing unusual about that, I suppose). At the time, Rio and other major Brazilian cities were divided between gated community fortresses and squalid, gang-ridden favelas, with very little in between. Petty and âintermediate levelâ crime was rife. Tourists who in, say, Paris would have been able to wander free in accordance with their own devices were warned not to take that walking trip to the big shops or the beaches without armed bodyguards, in view of the danger of mugging and even kidnapping. In addition to the conventional justice system (including its huge and pretty squalid prison system), resort was often had to less conventional responses to this situation. This included death squads that were more or less condoned. Many of these consisted of police personnel carrying out hits in their personal time. Transport systems in the cities were inadequate and chaotic. Environmental âissuesâ, including those directly affecting Olympic venues, were also rife. Not, overall, a great situation - but the IOC were promised that it would be âall right on the nightâ.
Many of the âall rightâ promises were, more or less, kept. Transport received substantial investment - although reports suggest that it is still pretty difficult to get around. The crime/security problems have been addressed up to a point. The methods involved may, however, be open to question. Favelas, crime gangs and even petty criminals were subjected to a heavy-handed official crackdown, which does appear to have suppressed the sort of crime that may affect tourists/Olympic visitors. What the longer effects of forcing personal crime back into the favelas and trying to crush it there remains open to doubt. Just this morning, a police vehicle is reported to have strayed into a favela and to have come under fire, resulting in three police wounded. Still sounds pretty dodgy. And, of course, the venues themselves seem to have âcome togetherâ, in the nick of time.
Brazilâs great misfortune, however, is its recent economic collapse, combined with chaos in its political sphere. There are many reasons for the economic collapse, of which the collapse in oil prices is only the clincher. However, that clincher is very important, since it has triggered the emergence of a major corruption crisis involving the political system and the national PETROBRAS oil giant. This has unveiled further fingers of political corruption stretching, for example, into huge deals to do with Olympic venues. The current President of Brazil now faces impeachment and removal from office as a result of this toxic situation, even though she herself has not been accused of corruption (she has, however, been accused of âfiscal crimesâ). Had the coincidence of this sort of chaos been envisaged at the time, there is no way that even the IOC would have awarded the current Olympics to Brazil. I suppose it is unreasonable to expect the Committee to have anticipated it six years ago.
At least as far as the Games are concerned, so far so reasonably good. Some way to go however - including the major challenge of the track and field athletics, starting next week. Can only wish the IOC and the Brazilian authorities well for the next couple of weeks. Stretched infrastructure with a huge political and economic crisis in the background scarcely seems the ideal environment of the Games. Yours from the Strand of Marathon, JR.