An explosion of joy on the streets of Rio greeted the announcement that the city would be hosting the 2016 Olympic games. Two weeks later, and Rio saw an explosion of violence when a police helicopter was shot down by drug traffickers. The governments reaction has been to intensify the crackdown on the citys slums or Favelas. A Human Rights Watch report last month accused Rio and Sao Paolo police of killing over 11000 people since 2003. Many, the report claims, were executed by the police, shot at point blank range. Many were innocent. And on many occasions, the police tried to cover up the evidence. This week, Fault Lines travels to Rio to look at the crackdown in Rios Favelas, and what it means for the people of the city.
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil won the Rights to host The 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Millions of Brazilians celebrated the victory. The first Summer Olympics in South America and in a tropical country.
Delirious scenes in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, as the Olympic games go to South America for the first time in history. The announcement made by the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen to host the 2016 games in Brazil followed a plea from the country’s president to redress what he called an imbalance seeing the games go only to Europe, North America and Asia in the past. Brazil triumphed over cities like Madrid in Spain and Chicago in the US despite a strong pitch from Barack Obama, the US president, for hosting the prestigious event in his home town of Chicago. Al Jazeera’s Roger Wilkison reports.
MaximsNewsNetwork: 05 October 2009 – UNWTO: After Rio de Janeiro won the bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games, the country and South America is now looking to the benefits that tourism will bring from hosting the event. After Rio de Janeiro won the bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games, the country and South America is now looking to the benefits that tourism will bring from hosting the event. Infrastructure and revenues from tourism look set to get a boost, in a region that has seen international arrivals drop by one percent from January to July this year, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Rio represents the whole of South America to a certain extent. It is the first time that South America gets the Olympic Games. It is great news for Brazil, said Mario Moyses, vice minister of tourism for Brazil. We have the 2014 [soccer] World Cup so this is a big year of opportunity; Aside of the Olympics. And we will also work with our other South American countries to build up visitors. News that Rio de Janeiro beat Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo in a competition to host the games was met with jubilation by the South American delegations at the 18th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Rio had the least-prepared infrastructure of the four cities competing for the Games. Now the city will look to build the Olympic Village as well as other developments at a cost of billion. A …