I've been ruminating on this Olympics business ever since the IOC announced that Rio would be the host of the 2016 Games, but I'm glad I waited to get this off my chest to put it into better perspective. One thing that helped a lot was seeing Capitalism: A Love Story, which was interesting but really bugged me in that there were so many problems presented with essentially no solutions. This, to me, amounts to complaining, and I much prefer to see things from a perspective that involves a problem and a solution.
So there's no sense in bemoaning the fact that Rio got the Olympics, because what's done is done, but what would be helpful is to take a look at some of the things that could potentially happen that we should all watch out for, in the hopes that they can be prevented from happening. So, in a sense, for all of us who care about Brazil to act as watchdogs in the coming years to make sure that the most positive outcome will come to fruition.
I thought I'd start with some of the more general points today.
- The IOC doesn't care about Brazil, nor Brazilians, nor Rio, nor Cariocas, nor the country's most pressing problems nor human rights (case in point: the 1936 and 2008 Games). What it cares about is itself, making money, and making sure the Games go as smoothly as possible. The IOC only cares about the host country's problems to the extent that they interfere with the games, and as long as they don't, it could care less. This does not bode well for any Olympics city, and means that it is up to the country's citizens to ensure that the government acts responsibly and not at the total behest of the IOC. For this reason, I think a watchdog group (a more formal one than on this blog) is completely necessary to ensure that the Olympics don't get in the way of democracy.
- Brazil, and Rio in particular, are the home of bread and circuses (more so circuses, though you could interpret Bolsa Familia as bread), where the government helps fund major public festivities like Carnival and New Year's Eve. Carnival, which has been historically used as a social pressure valve, is an excellent tool to keep the country's poorest citizens happy, distracted and placated. This isn't to say that Carnival alone is responsible for keeping Brazil revolution-free, but it is a powerful tool, along with other "circuses" (holidays, Globo, soccer) that helps distract the population from serious problems or events. With the World Cup and Olympics practically back to back, there is plenty of opportunity to keep people's attention diverted while the government gets away with things it shouldn't. It's essential to make sure people are in the loop and on their toes despite these major distractions, and the media has a big responsibility in this area.
- Unfortunately, some things in Brazil, including the World Cup and Olympics, are events that don't necessarily reflect reality but are intended to put up a facade for the sake of outsiders; as the Brazilians say, "só para inglês ver" or "just for the Englishmen to see." The origin of this expression comes from mining towns in Minas Gerais, where the locals would hide or obscure certain things from the British bosses to keep them appeased. In the same way, "fixing" Rio up for the Olympics could potentially be to put a pretty face on the city, mainly the parts that the tourists and athletes will see, and let the rest of the city, which is already a mess, slide deeper into decay. The same goes for the the problems that plague Rio: violent crime, theft, drug trafficking, organized crime, and gut-wrenching poverty and inequality. While the focus of preparations might be entirely on aesthetics (especially in Barra, Ipanema, and Copacabana) and getting cops into the streets only when the events begin, these problems could stay the same or even worsen. Therefore, it's in everyone's best interest to make sure Rio's most vulnerable citizens, including those in the neighborhoods largely untouched by Olympic venues and those who could have their communities destroyed by the venues, make sure their voices are heard loud and clear over the next seven years, to make sure that the preparations for the games are for todo brasileiro ver. One project intended to do just this is already underway, which I'll talk more about in the next Olympics post.
Thanks for covering & promoting http://www.ideablob.com/ideas/6590-Rio-Olympics-Ensuring-a-Powerf! It's a huge help! If you or any readers have any questions please contact me at [email protected]. We're now in the top 4 and the top 2 vote-getters (US folks only) by this Wednesday (this round ends Wednesday) go on to the final round at month's end. We're committed to ensuring a social legacy from the Olympics. Thanks for your help!
Posted by: Theresa Williamson | October 12, 2009 at 08:13 AM
Favela "community leaders"??? I'm sorry, but to me that sounds like an euphemism for drug lords. $10,000 to provide them with facebook and twitter access to me sounds like a monumental waste of money. And to think of the thought and good intentions I pour into buying a $11.99 "ZéCar" (which produces these results:http://www.projetomilfolhas.com/photos.htm) while someone else may pour $10,000 in one shot just to give drug lords internet accessability! Not a worthy cause, in my opinion.
Posted by: Daniela | October 12, 2009 at 02:31 PM
"as the Brazilians say, "só para inglês ver" or "just for the Englishmen to see." The origin of this expression comes from mining towns in Minas Gerais, where the locals would hide or obscure certain things from the British bosses to keep them appeased".
The origin version could never be the one you mention. There were no "englishmen" in Minas Gerais or Brazil as all the gold and any brazilian good belonged to the Portuguese Empire, an "englishman" in Brasil could just be a tourist at that time, like Daniel Kidder was, unless he wanted to have his head taken away from his body. It´s still like that somehow this days, if an "englishman" wants to do any business in Brazil, he will have to have some "portuguese"(or brazilian/german, italian, lebanese etc..) running his business here.
This "para inglês ver" was popular from the time the federal government decided to "make Brazil a tourist destination", not more then 30 years ago, when that James Bond movies showed Rio(Moonwalker). That movie was Brazil "para ingês ver":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1It-YC92MQ
It wasn´t just to say that Brazil wasn´t capable of doing good things, it was said to show how easy is to make "an englishman" believe in anything, like "gringo é tudo otário" "gringo are all dummies". Take a look in the sequence, James Bond in Rio and then he rides a horse wearing gaucho gears in Minas Gerais(with Marlboro music theme)!!!! Bizare...
Posted by: Eduardo Coser | October 12, 2009 at 08:25 PM
Eduardo, actually there were Englishmen who ran mines in Brazil, specifically in Minas, in the 1800s up until the mid 1900s:
http://www.cedeplar.ufmg.br/diamantina2002/textos/D13.PDF
http://biblioteca.universia.net/ficha.do?id=6227717
They certainly weren't the ones doing the actual hard work (they used cheap or slave labor), but according to the organizations that run old mines there, there was an English presence in the region, and not just through investment.
Posted by: Rio Gringa | October 12, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Daniela,
The project on ideablog is not for traffickers!! It is the idea of a respected NGO in Rio - CatCom, who has been working with favela residents for 10 years now. I urge all readers to vote for the project. Not all voices from the favela are dominated by traffickers!!
Posted by: Corinne | October 13, 2009 at 01:03 PM
These texts about the "presence" of Englishman in Brazil did not bring any name of an Englishman who had power over slaves or locals. England was all over the world selling their technology, they were like the Cable Company in your home.
The best texts of that time were written by writers of that time, there are many foreigners as the example I quoted, Daniel Kidder, who was an US author (some books are available online), the rest are theses of "mineiro" students.
Brazilians do not like to admit that the Portuguese controlled the production as a matter of pride.
It is the same as the gauchos, if you read their origin in Wikipedia, the text does not say they are descendants of the Paulista troopers, they never admit it, despite being the only true version.They would burn any old book about that.
"pra inglês ver" has other versions and the most likely is the slave trade ban by England but as control was extremely difficult, in Brazil, the Portuguese / Brazilians said that the law was "pra inglês ver".
World Cup is 10 times more important then Olympics, but football men do not complain about "safety" or "the subway was not clean", but some money would be spent in hotels for sure, the rest would be spent anyway, with some corruption for sure.
The true is that I don´t believe the Brazilian elite, politicians and poor Brazilians care that much about what the rest of the world is thinking.Maybe the little middle high class(the family ones who travel overseas and are forced to confront other nationalities) care the most, the "image" of Brazil. Besides, being a Paulista in the middle of crazy São Paulo Formula One week, it gets clear to me that Brazil is like a drug(like the RBR team site quoted this week). So, as weird as it sounds, the gringos are coming here looking foward for the mess, mob, women, traffic, storms, thieves or ADVENTURE. They are tired of the first world "perfection, mall lifestyle, always clean and functional", they want the "pra inglês ver" feeling, its like a drug and its gonna be fun, as we all know.
Posted by: Eduardo | October 13, 2009 at 04:44 PM
Carnival, Novelas and Soccer are major industries in Brazil. In one hand, it has a real power to make people distracted from the real world problems, but, on the other hand, offers opportunities to lower classes.
You are not looking the "behind the scenes" thing.
You are just looking in the same way pseudo-intellectuals of Rio look.
Novelas has a great social impact in advertising cultures and diplomatic issues(India culture, Arabic culture,Italian culture, Brazilian culture and history itself when they are exported overseas). Another social impact is the "campaign" angainst alcoholism, drugs, violence against women etc..
Each novela das oito has at least one "bebado" hehe
Take a look how many jobs Carnival creates... and it is not 100% temporary! Escolas de Samba works full time through the year, Axe bands and Micaretas all over country, all times in the year ( the ones I know: Niteroi-folia in June, BH-folia em July, Carnatal, Recifolia, etc etc...)
And this is because I hate Axe music,micaretas and novelas with all of my forces!!!
But I have to recognize that there is a huge behind the scenes in these industries.
If they make some people daydreaming about brazil, they make others realizing their dream of brazil.
Posted by: B.L.D, Lawrence Kansas | October 13, 2009 at 10:57 PM