Spotlight on a blackout in Brazil

Posted By Joshua Keating Wednesday, November 11, 2009 - 1:31 PM Share

Thankfully, beyond a few muggings, last night's massive Brazilian blackout seems to have caused little lasting damage. But the international coverage of the event is probably a good preview for the Olympic host country's next six years:

Questions remained about what happened and what the fallout would be in Brazil, a nation seen as an ascending economic and political power.

"The image of Brazil, of Rio, is bad enough with all the violence," said 35-year-old graphic designer Paulo Viera, as he sat in a restaurant a block from the sandy arc of Copacabana.

Standing in an open-air restaurant where patrons were drinking quickly warming beer, Viera said he worried about how the outage might look for a city that last month was picked to host the Olympics and will be the showcase city for soccer's World Cup in 2014. "We don't need this to happen. I don't know how it could get worse."

The blackout comes on the heels of a wave of gang fighting in Rio's slums that led to violence fears ahead of the games.

"It's sad to see such a beautiful city with such a precarious infrastructure," 22-year-old law student Igor Fernandes said. "This shouldn't happen in a city that is going to host the Olympic Games."

This is a little unfair. Even Rio's mayor acknowledges that the city has a long way to go in terms of safety and infrastructure before the games, but they do have another six years, and the IOC knew what they were getting when they awarded Brazil the games. 

The problem with developing coutries hosting events like the Olympics is that while the intention is to highlight the enormous progress they've made, they're just as likely to highlight the shortcomings. . Every crime wave or infrastructure failure, or corruption scandal Rio suffers in the next six years will now be covered in the context of whether the city is ready for the games.

Just ask South Africa or Russia. 

EXPLORE:LATIN AMERICA, OLYMPICS
 

SETH THOMAS

10:57 PM ET

November 11, 2009

chaos, not so much

You're right. Across the board, the reporting of this event has been uneven. The word "chaos" has been littered across the coverage, but evidence does not add up. Look at Sao Paulo, one of the densest urban populations in the world, and it did not meltdown how people claim. The people of Brazil handled this well. www.liketheclock.com

 

VIKOJHONS

3:41 PM ET

November 12, 2009

Hi, It was a very nice

Hi,
It was a very nice article! Just want to say thank you for the information you have shared. Just continue writing this kind of post. Thanks.
college papers | custom research paper |

 

MXCM428

3:17 AM ET

November 27, 2009

links of london

BJ's Restaurants links of london . Management might be tempted to belly up and drown cheap links of london their sorrows, links of london jewellery since the majority of this chain's 89 restaurants are in links of london jewelry deep-recession states like California, Arizona, links of london sale and Florida. links london But the company's homemade ales, links london jewelry Chicago-style pizza, link of london Olive Garden. links of london Charms More food for less money hits the sweet spot these days, links of london Charm which makes the family-style portions at this casual Italian chain a hit with diners. links of london Necklaces Olive Garden is a division of Darden Restaurants, links london Necklace which also operates Red Lobster, links of london Bracelets Longhorn Steakhouse, links london Bracelet and a few smaller chains. links of london Sweetie Bracelets Olive Garden has been the best performer of the bunch, links london Sweetie Bracelet with same-store sales down slightly but overall sales up, links of london Friendship Bracelets thanks to about 35 new outlets that have opened over the past year. links london Friendship Bracelet That helped boost overall earnings for the company by 15 percent in the most recent quarter links of london Sweetie Watches

 

BOYY

9:30 AM ET

November 30, 2009

links of london specialises

links of london specialises in quality handcrafted designer stering silver jewelry, links of london Shop provides hundreds of discount, cheap and links of london
links of london Bracelet
links of london friednship
Links of London, the leading British contemporary jeweller was founded in 1990 by jewellery designer Annoushka Ducas and her husband John Ayton. Excellent craftsmanship, generous tactile forms and the use of the finest materials remain integral to each collection.
links of london store
links of london
tiffany jewellery
links of london Charms

 

KARDELEN133

8:48 AM ET

December 4, 2009

saç ekimi

has its own internal logic. A film saç ektirme saç ektirme version of his
saç ekimi
bizarro comic We3, about three saç ekim saç ekimi merkezleri saç ekimi ve tadevasisi saç ekim saç ekim

 

Passport, FP’s flagship blog, brings you news and hidden angles on the biggest stories of the day, as well as insights and under-the-radar gems from around the world.

Read More