My friends who are Brazilian said that the government would just roll over the slums. Looks like there is a new day dawning in Rio and the flavella residents have figured out the power of social media, courts and the press.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/world/americas/brazil-faces-obstacles-in-preparations-for-rio-olympics.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

My friends who are Brazilian said that the government would just roll over the slums. Looks like there is a new day dawning in Rio and the flavella residents have figured out the power of social media, courts and the press.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/world/americas/brazil-faces-obstacles-in-preparations-for-rio-olympics.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

OZ, Thanks for posting this timely article. We who travel to Brasil needs to know about the dilemma of some of the people who live in favelas and the views and actions taken regarding their displacement under the guise of sport and international acceptance and recognition, but it all comes down to the R$s in the end!

This is an interesting article because the exact same thing happened in Beijing when the Olympics were being planned for that city. The only difference is that all of the protesting was illegal and people were forcibly moved no matter what they wanted and they weren't allowed to criticize the decision publicly. And in China the rules around construction were very odd because they wanted to present their city a certain way to western visitors. So this is interesting article to see the contrasts and the similarities.

As someone who lives here, the NY Times has taken a point of view and their story is shaded in that direction. What one can actually see and what they report are not always the same. The writer neglected to mention the re-urbanization of Santa Maria and other favelas. Only casually mention the Ruben Braga elevator and the whole arts colony being started in Ipanema. Wonder why? I've only been here nine years but I have walked through a few favelas and conjuntos habitacionais. And seeing raw sewage flooding streets after a heavy rain and seeing the effects of the pollution flowing into the seas and lagoons is reason enough to be on the side of the Prefeitura here in Rio de Janeiro.