One must ask, how can the 2016 Olympic Games be a successful Olympics if the host city's mayor wished they were never selected? Above is a photo from the Telegraph of 300,000 protesters. What could 10% of that figure, or say 30,000 protesters, do to cause trouble at the Olympics?
Here is a link to a photo gallery of "fire fights" between the Brazilian Army and the citizens of Brazil.
The population of Rio de Janeiro is more than unhappy with the Olympic Games right now. An astounding 1-million people have protested and rioted over hosting both the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. In fact FIFA has offered apologies to the citizens the Citizens of Rio and now so has the Mayor.
Brazilians are demanding clean drinking water, sewage services, better bus service, and schools rather than soccer stadiums Olympic arenas. The rhetoric from protesters is not just anger but is calling these Olympic Games a human rights violation.
Mayor Eduardo Paes' exact quote form the Telegraph was both a shock and warning to future cities with emerging economies who may want to host an Olympic Games: "..."It is a shame that Brazil is hosting the Olympic Games... We must handle the legacy of the Olympics in the city"... Rio will have to look after the legacy of infrastructure but it's unclear who will run the sports centres after the Olympics. ..."
From the Telegraph:
Demonstrations have continued in recent months in Rio de Janeiro as angry residents accuse state Governor Sergio Cabral of corruption and demand an inquiry into spending on projects associated with the staging of World Cup and Olympic Games.
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The IOC has screwed up, and screwed up so badly. These Olympics may become a complete fiasco and all it is going to take is a 1-million-man/mom march to bring the games to their knees.
Is it time for the International Olympic Committee to back out of Brazil and and go with a Plan-B say like London, Bejing or do it on the cheap in Los Angeles?
3 comments:
Sergio Cabral is a great governor!
He is the great responsible for the RJ to be a safe city.
Would not pick on Brazil, the most Hispanic region of the US, the Rio Grande Area of Texas has some issues with sanitation and indoor plumbing, its the Colonas, and Texas had the largest population of Colonas in the US, Mexicans that settled on the US for several generations and the instructure of electricity and plumbing is less developed compared to the rest of the US. In fact the MCAllen- Brownsville region has the highest poverty rate in the US at 35 precent and the population is near 100 percent Hispanic in many of the border areas of TExas. NOw this is not bad by Brazil or Mexican standards but defintenly by US Standards.
the protests were not related to the olympics, mate. the main critique was on poor public services, and the world cup was always on the sides because of all the money being spent on stadiums all over the country, but it was far from being the main focus of the protests. read the news more carefully next time. and btw, sérgio cabral is the worst governor in the history of Rio de Janeiro.
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