Rio's favela dwellers to be displaced in the rush to be ready

01/08/2011

By The Independent

"The World Cup and Olympics are good opportunities to get positive things done, but the interests behind them are not right. It's about making money in the fastest, most brutal way possible and this is allowed to happen by the international federations." So says Professor Christopher Gaffney, an outspoken critic of the way Rio's poor communities and favela dwellers, are being treated in the build-up to the two sporting mega-events.

Gaffney, an American visiting professor of urbanism at Rio's Fluminense Federal University, says 130 favelas have been marked for removal for the World Cup and Olympics, or associated transportation projects. "These projects are usually getting done for very narrow interests, mostly in real estate and big civil construction – motorways, airports etc. Only a handful of companies do these kinds of things in Brazil and their relationships with politicians are very cosy."

Gaffney said the authorities intentionally avoid collective negotiating. "This is done to fragment resistance. They negotiate family by family, so one family agrees to sell up, their home is demolished immediately and the value of the property next to it is lowered. Thus people are set against each other."