At the beginning of the year I blogged about how Brazil wasn’t ready for two major events the FIFA World Cup 2014 and the 2016 Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro. Now, the Brazilian governments are actually making improvements for better security for Rio de Janeiro society and future tourists. The current president, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, finally sent 800 army soldiers to the “favela(slum) do Alemao,” the most notorious slum Rio has. Last Sunday the government’s armed personnel confiscated 40 tons of marijuana, 50 rifles and 9 antiaircraft guns. The government finally seized the land the loosed to heavily armed drug gangs. According to the Brazilian media, they will stay there until October of 2011 and establish “police pacification unit.” From the Alemao Complex they move to the other notorious slums in Rio.
Like the rest of the Brazilian population I was shocked when I read what was happening to Rio’s slums. We are finally seeing the government enforcing military power over the armed gangs that controls the slums. I believe that this is only the beginning of the improvements for the 2014 World Cup. If the Brazilian governments continues to make these types of action I believe that Brazil can have an organized a safe World Cup and Olympic games and also change foreign impressions about Brazil. 
Yes, this is a good thing, but it is too bad that it was only the fear of what the rest of the world would think of Brazil on the national stage that got this ball rolling, don't you think? It's kind of like how China cleaned up its air pollution around Beijing before the Olympics. Will this be a temporary crack-down on crime or a permanent one? We will see.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to hear this is happening. It brings my hopes up that if Brazil, a Latin American country suffering from the same problems as Mexico, can recover from drug wars and violence, Mexico can too. Your post gave me hope that someday, Mexico will be doing the same. It is great to see how motivated Brazil got over the olympics and FIFA that they wanted to make a change for the better. Maybe that's what Mexico need too, motivation.
ReplyDelete