Brazil: An Olympic opportunity

The recent decision of the International Olympic Committee to have Rio de Janeiro be home to the 2016 games is an event of the most extraordinary circumstances.

On the day of the announcement, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva proclaimed: “Brazil went from a second-class country to a first-class country, and today we began to receive the respect we deserve.” With tears in his eyes he cried, “I could die now and it would have already been worth it.”

The 2016 games will be the first in South America. Brazil, a member of the G-4, might, with appropriate leadership, experience an even greater economic boom.

Moreover, in a country of dire contrasts between the haves and the have-nots, the presence of the Games, televised and watched by billions, has the potential to dramatically reduce poverty, particularly in Rio, the home of the favelas, their infamous slums.

Using the IOC to combat poverty should not be dismissed as pure idealism. On the contrary, it has pragmatic implications and is rooted in precedent. The IOC and the United Nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding Feb. 5, formally committing themselves to the eradication of poverty.

Recognizing this sentiment, Amaury de Souza, a political analyst in Rio noted how “the Olympics gives us the perfect pretext to push ahead, in reforming the cities, in making more and more decisive efforts in reducing poverty.”

However, as an Oct. 3 New York Times article highlighted, a promising opportunity for Brazil and Rio might turn sour.

The article recalled Brazil’s “history of overpromising projects ... the 2007 Pan-American Games left a bad taste in the mouths of many.” It also cited a luncheonette worker in Brazil who argued that “(the government is) going to make the city pretty ... just like they did with the Pan-Am games ... they will throw a lot of spiffy-looking policemen at the situation and when it’s over, one day later there won’t be anything.”

It is logical that the Brazilian government will seek to conceal its favelas that cover the landscape of Rio. As a result, it will be the responsibility of civil society to ensure that if the favelas are affected, its inhabitants are not inhumanely displaced, but justly relocated.

Importantly, Brazilian non-governmental organizations must take the lead to ensure effective oversight.
 
With that being said, why should the international community concern itself with a domestic issue?

The answer lies in the idea that until we openly embrace humanitarian efforts in other countries as collective members of a global society, we will never be able to confront international threats of paramount importance like nuclear proliferation and global warming.

By using the Olympics as a training ground, we would be one step closer to reaching concrete and permanent solutions for an even wider array of contemporary problems.
As winter approaches and the 2010 year dawns, another question remains: How can we, as university students at an academic institution of international influence, contribute to a responsible fight against poverty in Rio de Janeiro, while respecting the inherent right of our colleagues in Brazil to lead us?