Brazil, what a political, economic, and social disarray. They are politically not stable at the moment. One of their largest companies that produced oil, Petrobras. The Brazilian government owns 51 percent of Petrobras. It has been shut down because it turns out that there was major corruption. This is not a slight thing since Petrobras counted for a huge part of Brazil’s GDP, main employer for many of the poor, and was a large part of politics. It turns out that there was about $3 billion worth of corruption going on. The dots of corrupted politicians keeps connecting almost all the way to the President, Dilma Rousseff. It even may connect to the former President Lula. All of this came as a huge shock to the world; Brazil was seen as an up-and-coming economy set to steal the stage. Now it looks like a false city that North Korea built. Now this is not all of it there is so much more going on with impeachment drama, politicians “attempting” to return the laundered money, and the fact that Brazil’s GDP was falsified by President Rousseff. Now their lower court has decided to impeach her, but the leader of the impeachment has just recently been suspended after it was discovered that he took around 1.3 million dollars in bribes. All of this has placed the Olympics in the background and unfinished.
Now if that was not enough to dismantle a huge event for a nation there is also Zika. Zika is a virus that is transmitted through insects and animals. The main culprit is the mosquito. It sometimes has no effect on some people, but the main problem is with pregnant woman. It can leave their child with severe birth defects such as microcephaly. Microcephaly is when the baby’s head does not grow to its normal size, this can have huge side effects for the baby such as, seizures, vision loss, hearing loss, developmental delay, and many other issues. Another big problem is that recently scientists found drug-resistant bacteria growing in the bodies of water that make up Rio de Janeiro’s beaches. This comes as a huge problem as some of the sailing events were supposed to be hosted at one of the beaches that have been listed as contaminated. This has caused a huge mess that is overshadowing the Olympics. Many athletes, especially woman, have withdrawn from the Olympics because of its risk with childbirth and its lasting effect for women trying to conceive, and the medical risks of contracting .
Another huge problem for Brazil is their lagging ticket sales and incomplete facilities. As of April, only 50 percent of the tickets had sold, and even worse, only 12 percent of the Paralympics tickets have been sold. There are many reasons behind this such as the political turmoil that rocks the nation. Many people are too scared to go to an unstable country that is currently fighting a virus, Zika, and continues to have a new problem appear every week. Some people are thinking back to the Athens games were lagging ticket sales were a large problem. Now Brazil faces this problem along with many other. Another issue is that some of their transportation and facilities are still under construction. This is a huge problem since the games are set to begin August 5th. One cause of this problem is how they have tried to build these stadiums and buildings is by forcing impoverished communities from their homes. So many have begun to fight back and refuse to leave. Another issue is the constant rising cost of these projects; they have lasted longer than promised and almost doubled in cost. The Olympics are coming whether Brazil is ready or not.
“Welcome to Hell” read one of the signs posted by the main airport in Rio. The sign was pointing to the issue of the police and firemen. The city of Rio, it turns out, has not paid the police for a couple of months. They simply do not have the money to pay them for the work that they have done or the overtime that they have put it. The policemen and firemen warn that they will not be able to protect tourists visiting, and with crime on the rise, this is a huge issue. Another worry that strikes a cord in Rio is violence. Police are responsible for one in every five homicide. The city has become listed as one of the most dangerous cities in the world with the police and their death toll as a factor. Fear and concern run rampant through Rio and the Olympic deadline approaches faster each day.
When August 5th comes all eyes will turn and hope for the best with Brazil. So many things have gone wrong with corruption and political scandal. Another huge problem to add to Brazil’s list is the Zika virus that has the world crippled by fear. As if that was not enough to overshadow the Olympics there is also the lack of ticket sales, unfinished facilities, and lack of security. All of these problems are becoming larger and larger as the date comes faster. So when the world turns on the television to see the opening ceremony people will see the Olympics or just one problem after another?
