Rio: Safety, Military Moves??!!

Just read this interesting article today from a Brazil newspaper. Their headline is: “Brazil Deploys 8,500 Armed Forces in Rio de Janeiro” with these highlights: “The government announced that the implementation of the National Security Plan in Rio de Janeiro will employ 8,500 members of the Armed Forces, 620 members of the National Security Force and 1,120 of the Federal Highway Police, of whom 380 came from other states. This comes a day after Defense Minister Raul Jungmann described the federal efforts as ‘focusing on three pillars: integration, intelligence and surprise’, but also saying there will be no ostensible presence of the Armed Forces occupying the streets. In the wake of the economic crisis and breakdown of the security in Rio, federal authorities are taking a new tack. Looking to avoid a costly occupation effort, Jungmann confirmed that 'The menu is any and every action that is needed to strike and take away the capacity of the [drug] trafficking.' ”.

We super enjoyed our Amazon River cruise and would like to visit Rio in the future. BUT, what is the situation like there in Rio? Does it depend on the neighborhood or area as to the level of security and safety?

Full story at:

http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-politics/brazil-deploys-8500-armed-forces-in-rio-de-janeiro/

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean adventure that started in Barbados, here is the link for that live/blog. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.):

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 52,123 views for these postings.

As a follow-up on Rio and the military there, things seems fairly "quiet". Hopefully that is a sign of "good news".

From Forbes magazine, they have this headline: “Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Is A Complete Mess” with some of these highlights: “Rio de Janeiro was supposed to become the Oslo of South America. With all that oil and gas under the ocean floor off its coast, Rio de Janeiro was not only blessed by the gods of good weather and romantic landscapes, it was now blessed by the oil gods and that eventually means money. The government had big dreams. All that deepwater oil would turn Petrobras and ultimately Rio into a mini-Oslo. An entire maritime industry would be born in this beloved city of bossa nova and samba. Those days for Rio are now as far away as the moon. Rio de Janeiro is basically a disaster. It is on the verge of bankruptcy and requires federal bailouts to keep the lights on and pay its public employees, many of whom have had to work weeks in state hospitals and other city jobs with delayed pay. The state's former governor, Sergio Cabral, is in prison.”.

Lots of sad details and specifics for what has happened (or not) with Rio and Brazil after the World Cup, Olympics, corruption convictions, etc.

Full story at:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2017/08/09/rio-de-janeiro-brazil-is-a-complete-mess/#283acc0020e3

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 185,084 views for this posting.

THANKS! Enjoy!

Enjoy what? The chaos in Brazil? The negative articles?

Those two articles IMO are just more hot air from the media. When they were all upbeat, it was clear to anyone who knew Brazil that it was too good to be true. Now they're selling newspapers by sensationalizing the bad news.

The government had their chance beefing up the police presence in the neighborhoods, but the drug traffickers were allowed to escape (there is even video showing them), and too many corrupt police subsequently didn't win the residents' trust. Then the traffickers moved back in.

However, on the street, it's really no different for tourists than it was, but tourism seems down and tour guides' income is suffering..

There is a severe economic crisis in Brazil.

And you can hardly find a politician at any level that is not corrupt and still stuffing his pockets. That's where the country's money is going. One is as bad as the next, and the next, and the next.

And wow, even Carnaval (samba schools, LIESA) was threatening cancellation. Now THAT's a real disaster, when cariocas can't even party. rsrsrsrsrsrs

Terry as usual thanks for sharing this.

Keith