Before the start of the Olympics, I predicted in my first column that Brazil would defy world expectations when it comes to its ability to host this sport event. Despite the few glitches involving the pool water turning green at the Olympic Aquatic Stadium or competitors in the marathon swimming event having to swim out from the beach after the starting platform collapsed, nothing major has so far derailed the Games.
On the other hand, the negative press coverage that preceded the opening ceremony has finally borne fruit in the Ryan Lochte debacle. Lochte’s allegations that he and several other swimmers were held at gun point in Rio seemed to confirm at last that the city was just too dangerous a place to hold the Olympics. The fact that Lochte’s accusations implicated the police in the hold-up surely was most terrifying for it would show that athletes and tourists cannot even rely on authorities for their security and livelihood. The news that the Brazilian police was investigating Lochte’s claims was received with disbelief, perhaps justifiably so. But the country should be commended for having proven that Lochte and his friends were lying. At stake is the Brazilian tourist industry, the cultural and economic benefits that the country hopes to indirectly gain by hosting the Olympics, and ultimately basic national pride.
By proving that Lochte and his friends lied, the Brazilian government shows that it is time for world sports events like the Olympics and the World Cup to cease being European and north-American affairs. And when these events are held in developing nations such as Brazil, despite their challenges, a little faith goes a long way. To be sure, Brazil has overreached in hosting the Games. As many pointed out, the country has endemic problems with poverty, lack of access to basic health care and education that could be best served than investing in building expensive infrastructures for a three weeks event. Security is also a major problem in Rio de Janeiro. But this has not stopped millions of tourists from going to Rio at the end of the year and at Carnival. The prospect that athletes’ lives would be particularly endangered during the Games was preposterous. These athletes reside at the Olympic Village where security exists 24/7. The government deployed 65, 000 police and troops to secure Olympic venues.
Rio is a big city and it is dangerous as other big cities. What is distinctive about its violence as with other Brazilian cities is the gap between the rich and the poor, between the city of the asphalt and the slums on the hills. Long after the Olympics, poor Brazilians of color from Rio’s slums will continue to be overrepresented in the prison population where conditions are hellish.