The Kojo Nnamdi Show

I am a Rio native and I couldn't let your guest's misrepresentation of what is going on in Rio go by without commenting. Pressed by the upcoming Olympics and world cup, for the past few years the federal and city government of Rio de Janeiro have been working hard on the safety of the favelas by expeling the drug dealers while at the same time developing the communities. Elevators and lifts have been added; precarious houses have been replaced with apartment complexes and given to the population at low or no cost, and UPPs (Pacifying Police Units) have been added to the pacified slums in order to ensure peace and order and to see that the drug lords won't come back. Life has improved immensely in those communities and the population is finally able to live peacefully and thrive. I was privileged to visit one of those communities in Rio last year and speak to a community leader. While they still have a long way to go, the policies have had immense results. A perverse consequence, obviously, is that real state is going up in those privilege spots of the city that overlook the most gorgeous sites of Rio. However, the government is not the one responsible for this. They are not busing anybody out of the city or moving people away from those places. They tried that decades ago and failed. What is happening now is a natural and perverse unintended consequence to the policies that initially had the intention to improve life in those communities. It's worth mentioning that that effect is also benefiting the community. For new year's eve, for example, the favelas dwellers were charging $1,000 per person of those who wanted to watch the fireworks from the best spot in town.