In Rio de Janeiro there is a huge gap in wealth and social stratification. Beautiful high-rise buildings overlook spiraling slums creeping up hills. A city where the poor deal with the corruption of drug lords in your neighborhoods as their governing body, and the rich deal with the same corruption of drug lords on a less blatant platform, but that deals with a greater sum of money.
Over the past few years the police of Rio de Janeiro have been slowly taking over the "drug lord's" turf in the slum (favelas) and permanently reclaiming the land and power as Brazil's. The series of operations have not been peaceful or been done without some type of retaliation from the escaping drug traffickers.
Last week, due the up and coming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the police invaded the favelas of Pena in the north zone which sparked a wave of crime and retaliation throughout the city: buses and cars burned, people robbed, stray bullets near the slums of the invasion, drive by shooting aimed for police posts, stores closing early, classes cancelled, and terror in general spread. Now as I type the police have secured Complexo do Alemao. Now waves the flags of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil at the top of the conquered hill. Let's all hope that there are no more innocent people killed or wounded by this all out war between authority and anarchy. Which leads me to the question: why did the government let it get to this point? Also, knowing that drugs kill people, innocent people and ruin the lives of loved ones, why do people (rich & poor) continue to use and create a demand for these illicit crimes. Stepping onto my soapbox--people, love your neighbor and do good to each other. Treat those how you would want to be treated.
I'll leave you with a quote by Ganhdi, "You have to be the change that you want to see in the world." Please don't create a market for blood shed.
I completely agree. Unfortunately the best solution would have been to never let it get this bad in the first place. The government turned a blind eye to not only the slum cities taking over its land (I know Rocinha, for example, is smack on government land), but also the poverty that gives rise to the favelas.
ReplyDeleteI find it very sad that innocent people will be killed and injured due to the government trying to fix a problem that it helped create. And of course, as you said, it is not only the government that is to blame. The social elite have long refused to play any sort of role in cleaning up their own city.
Stay safe, and keep getting on that soapbox. They probably won't listen to uma gringa, but you never know...
The police have confiscated in the past two days more drugs and arms than they had for the entire year!!! What are they going to do with the evidence?? Hum...I hope it really stays off the streets.
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