Rio de Janeiro state plans to wall off slums

Financial Times ^ | 4/14/04 | Raymond Colitt

[playball0]

The government of Rio de Janeiro state yesterday proposed to build a wall around its sprawling favelas in an effort to help control rampant crime in the picture postcard city.

"The wall won't put an end to violence [in the slums] but if we don't contain it, it will destroy the [surrounding] forest, the economy of Rio de Janeiro and the lives of the city's residents," Luiz Paulo Conde, deputy governor, said on Monday.

The proposal comes after yet another wave of violence rocked parts of the city during the Easter holidays, shutting down commerce, and killing 10 people, including civilians, police and gang members.

More than 1,200 police officials on Monday occupied Rocinha and Vidigal, two slums in southern Rio de Janeiro, only a stone's throw from the city's famous beaches. Their patrols will seek to re-establish public order.

The unrest broke out when a rival gang on Friday sought to invade and occupy Rocinha, Latin America's largest shantytown, in an attempt to control the drug trade and steal cars.

The episode illustrates not only the power of drug traffickers in Rio but also the ineffectiveness of the police. Hidden TV cameras have repeatedly filmed police officials and prison guards turning a blind eye on drug traffickers and even taking bribes from them. Parts of Rocinha at the weekend resembled a battlefield.

Drug gangs armed with grenades and machine guns, fired relentlessly and local residents were caught in the crossfire.

One woman was killed late on Friday as she tried to break through a roadblock set up by gang members and one man was killed on his porch early on Monday by a stray bullet.

Several inhabitants abandoned the neighbourhood with their belongings.

"I can't stay here any more, the police are not in control," said one resident.

The military police, subordinate to the state governor, defended its performance, saying violence would have been much worse had it not intervened.

Cesar Maia, the city's mayor, on Monday harshly criticised Rosinha Matheus, the governor, and Anthony Garotinho, her husband and secretary for public security.

Mr Maia urged the federal government to help re-establish order and said state security forces had proved "entirely incompetent".

The state government proposes to build three-metre tall concrete walls around at least four slums. "We can no longer watch passively, it needs to be built urgently," said Mr Conde.

He rejected criticism that the project would in effect segregate residents and insisted the government would finance infrastructure projects, including water and sewage services.

[playball0]

Sounds like a ghetto to me.

[Viking2002]

Yeah - in America, we call it 'public housing'.

[Clemenza]

Ping!

[ARCADIA]

They are going to need an enormous amount of wall.

[jeremiah]

Whomever wrote the script for "Escape from New York" had a keen insight. I think it would just be better to institute a harsh justice for drug dealers, death on conviction within a week of sentencing. Incarcerate the users long enough to detoxify them, then release them on lifelong probation with monthly testing. If they ever test positive again for the drugs, give them 5 years, and weekly testing after release. Next time they test positive, death penalty. I may be wrong, but at least it would work. Either that, or legalize the usage of drugs, kill the dealers, and let those affected by the drugs wither away and die in slums like those in Rio.

[BipolarBob]

How about "Escape From Rio"? They wall off the ghetto and send the criminals there. I smell a blockbuster.

[lonewacko_dot_com]

There was a StarTrek episode (DS9 I believe) where they went back to Earth in another time, around 2050 or so. The slums were walled off...

We need to learn the lessons offered by that episode, whatever they were.

[claudiustg]

There's out of control violence somewhere other than Iraq? I'm shocked! The Kerry campaign must be contacted immediately!

[lonevoice]

Will there be a U.N. Resolution condemning Brazil's wall?

[Frohickey]

Hehehe...

Brazil adopts draconian gun laws, considers ban
Brazil Moves Towards Increasing Gun Control
Brazil Gets Sweeping Gun-Control Law

Why am I not surprised by all of this? ;)

[BenLurkin]

Well, yes.

[hoot2]

"The unrest broke out when a rival gang on Friday sought to invade and occupy Rocinha, Latin America's largest shantytown, in an attempt to control the drug trade and steal cars. "

"Sounds like a ghetto to me."

sound like n american video came to me...did they shoot the hooker?

[Monkey King]

This IS "City of God".

Go see that movie. It's exactly what this article is talking about. Fair warning, though - it's subtitled.

On a side note, when will Kofi and his buddies condemn this "Aparthied Wall"?

Hey, just askin'...

[fourdeuce82d]

I think it would just be better to institute a harsh justice for drug dealers, death on conviction within a week of sentencing. Incarcerate the users long enough to detoxify them, then release them on lifelong probation with monthly testing. If they ever test positive again for the drugs, give them 5 years, and weekly testing after release. Next time they test positive, death penalty

I concur- but I would extend it to alchohol producers and consumers as well- 40% of all fatal car accidents, or about 16,000 deaths every year, or more people than are murdered (by both drug and non drug using people)are alchohol related.

Selfish people putting their own enjoyment about the well-being of their neighbors must be STOPPED.

Ya make booze, we kill ya. Ya drink it, we follow the plan you listed above.

[rogueleader]

Between the walled off slums and draconian gun control, it sounds like the socialist government of Brazil has a genocidal plan for its poor people.

[KarlInOhio]

Where is the UN to protest this wall? The like butting in on other countries building walls to keep out murderous thugs. Oh, wait, the Jooooooooos aren't involved in Rio.

[xp38]

Sounds like a gated community in reverse to me.

[Caipirabob]

I've been through a favela in Santos. Not in Rio. The poverty is numbing. We actually stopped in what they called a bar later that day on the way back from crossing over a mountain to get to a secluded beach. One heck of an experience, I have photos so people would believe me years later.

In Rio's favelas, the drug lords control their own little fifes. It's truly a fuedal system of control there. The people are so incredibly poor that this is really one of the most attractive lifestyle for them. Not that Communist Lula has any idea how to change things either.

It's been years since I've been to Rio. I wanted to go back and take my wife so she could see it. I miss "my bar" on Ipanema where I had my first "real Brasilian" Caiprinha. Yet from what I hear, it's really gotten bad down there.

Now they want to build a wall? They'd do better to build it and drop it on Lula's head.

Wish I had an effective solution for Rio's problems. Sometimes you just have to "start over", though.

Thanks for the ping. Hope the weather up North is treating you better. We've had rain and thunderstorms for days now.

Tanta saudade por meu Brasil...

[FreedomFlynnie]

I work for a wine and spirits manufacturer, but in a marketing capacity - none of our products are made in the same city, let alone the same office as mine, and I don't have any hand in their making. Do I get the death penalty, or can you just beat me until I promise to quit?

< /sarcasm >

The argument that an activity should be banned because a small fraction of its participants are irresponsible can be used against anything from cars to guns to airplanes to home-schooling. My understanding was that Americans aren't willing to trade "liberty for a little temporary safety." Google "Prohibition" and "Al Capone" for an example of why it doesn't work.

[sarcasm]

The future?