Brazil has “long been known as a country that can throw a great party as long as the guests do not mind a location that still has the builders in it,” according to Andrew Downie of REUTERS. With 100 days to go before the Olympic Games begin in Rio de Janeiro, the nation “famous for doing things at the last minute faces a novel situation: The venues are ready, but the host does not appear to be.” With the country's president “fighting impeachment and the economy on track for its worst recession in more than a century, Brazilians are both angry and distracted.” Longtime Rio resident Julia Michaels said, “People are paying no attention. No one is talking about it at all because there are so many other things to talk about.” The twin “meltdowns in politics and the economy have consumed Brazil, and the Olympics have all but disappeared from the front pages and TV news.” In a nation “where football has long been the sport that matters, politics is the only game in town.” The venues are complete except for the velodrome, “which will not be ready in time for an official test event, and the athletics stadium, where the running track is being laid.” Officials say both will be finished “well before the Games begin on Aug. 5” (REUTERS, 4/27). REUTERS’ Rodrigo Viga Gaier reported the velodrome is only 85% ready and workers need another 30 to 40 days to finish the structure, “meaning there will not be time for a proper test event before the Games begin.” Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes said, “The biggest problem, the biggest challenge and the job that gave us most problems and missed the deadline was the velodrome. The track is practically done. We have 30 to 40 more days of intense work but we are on schedule.” Paes also announced "public holidays on three days during the games, both for the opening and closing ceremonies and on Aug. 18, the day of the men's triathlon event in Copacabana" (REUTERS, 4/27).
LITANY OF PROBLEMS: In London, Jonathan Watts wrote among the "litany of problems" are: an impeachment vote against President Dilma Rousseff that has divided the nation; the "biggest corruption scandal in the country's history; the deepest GDP decline in decades; the region's worst health crisis -- Zika virus -- in memory; and water pollution so bad that Guanabara Bay, which will stage the sailing contests, stinks of excrement." Recent headlines "only add to the sense of dismay." On Monday, an ombudsman "reported that 11 workers have died so far working on Olympic projects, compared with eight for the 2014 World Cup and zero for the London Games in 2012." Meanwhile, there are "growing concerns about public spending cuts, which have prompted strikes that have paralysed hundreds of schools, sparked warnings from medical unions that the health system is ill-prepared for Zika, and forced Olympics organisers to find alternative funding for the air conditioning in the International Broadcasting Centre." It also prompted the state police budget to be reduced by R$2B ($570M), "despite intelligence warnings that Islamic State radicals could see the Olympics as their next target." Rio 2016 Organizers "say there is much to be proud of." Although they "admit the public is distracted and somewhat demoralised, they see the Olympics as part of the solution for Brazil rather than the problem." Brazil Sports Minister Ricardo Leyser said, "I think the Games are one of the few good things that will happen this year. It can reanimate the country and generate jobs" (GUARDIAN, 4/27). The AFP's Sebastian Smith reported with a "tanking economy, high crime and the Zika virus," some have started "asking whether Brazilians will even want to turn up" to the Games. Olympic organizers also have had to "slash their budget, cutting back on everything from printer ink to seating at the rowing venue." Officials "insist that nothing important will be missing," but deadlines "are getting awfully tight" (AFP, 4/26).
