The start of the Olympics in Rio this week has been shadowed by a storm of bad news — not including a Zika outbreak that prompted 150 health officials to recommend moving the games out of the city as a public safety measure.
Demonstrations, violent crime, infrastructure failures and poverty are set to greet spectators this weekend in an event that some economists say could mean upward of $15 billion in losses for Brazil.
Here's a rundown of some of the issues hanging over the games in Rio:
Political Uncertainty
Brazilians are tangled in a state of political turmoil and economic uncertainty that was not as apparent in 2009, when the decision was made to hold the games in Rio.
This year Brazil's Senate impeached Dilma Rousseff — the country's first female president, who helped deliver the games to Rio — over accusations that she doctored accounts in order to portray a more optimistic economic outlook during her re-election bid in 2014. ABC News reported in May that Rouseff compared the pain of being impeached to the torture she suffered under the country's military dictatorship, which lasted from 1964 to 1985.
Michel Temer, Rousseff's vice president, has stepped in to serve as interim leader.
Other lawmakers, including leaders of Brazil's Congress, have been accused of corruption, and political protests have become a regular feature on the streets of Rio.
Demonstrations with "tens of thousands" of people have been held as recently as this weekend, according to McClatchy.
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento