Travelling to Rio

I think PETER PAN refers to my posting about crime/pickpocket aviodance
guide in a thread
further down here (rec.travel.latin-america).
I was the one who experienced the problem with the self-appointed parking
attendant.
I think there are at least two kinds of parking attendants. Official ones (I
think I have heard
that they have som kind of cloth or id to be sure they are official) and
self-appointed ones.
The one I met certainly looked highly unofficial to say the least. But from
there to say that
he is into some organised crime and mafia is taking it a bit far (but of
course I do not know that).
Can anyone shed some light on the facts here? Are there official and
self-appointed parking
attendants, or just official ones in Rio? I think I know the answer, but
would like a more
qualified statement than my own here.

Borge

"Kurko" wrote in message
news
3. In 3rd world countries there are JOBS like parking attendants. These
guys have
actually licence to operate as such (atleast in Rio they do). There is no
MAFIA involved here, just some people trying to get their livelihood with
honest way (read
not robbing the tourists).

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americ...carnival.reut/

Three policemen killed, ten wounded in ambush in Rio de Janeiro
Monday, February 16, 2004 Posted: 10:31 AM EST (1531 GMT)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) -- Three policemen were killed and 10
wounded in Rio de Janeiro when gunmen ambushed the bus in which they
were traveling in a new outburst of violence days before the annual
Carnival, police said Monday.

The policemen were returning from a security shift at the Maracana
stadium Sunday evening after an important soccer game between rival
Rio teams Vasco and Flamengo.

The bus was passing by a shanty town along the busy Avenida Brasil
thoroughfare on the city outskirts when it ran into a hail of bullets
from assault rifles and a machine gun.

The bus was completely destroyed. Police said they were investigating
the attack and did not comment further. Drug gangs control many of
Rio's slums.

Last year, the federal government deployed army units to safeguard
Carnival jamborees in the tourist mecca of Rio following a wave of
gang-related violence that included attacks on police posts, city
buses and even tourism spots.

Rio authorities have since toughened their fight against organized
crime and such incidents have become more rare recently. They say the
attacks are normally retaliation by drug gangs for tough police action
against them.

The oceanside city, where murder rates are among the highest in the
world, is swarming with tourists for five days of Carnival parades and
all-night reveling. The pre-Lenten festival officially kicks off
Friday, but loud samba processions have already taken to the streets.



"B H" wrote in message ...
I think PETER PAN refers to my posting about crime/pickpocket aviodance
guide in a thread
further down here (rec.travel.latin-america).
I was the one who experienced the problem with the self-appointed parking
attendant.
I think there are at least two kinds of parking attendants. Official ones (I
think I have heard
that they have som kind of cloth or id to be sure they are official) and
self-appointed ones.
The one I met certainly looked highly unofficial to say the least. But from
there to say that
he is into some organised crime and mafia is taking it a bit far (but of
course I do not know that).
Can anyone shed some light on the facts here? Are there official and
self-appointed parking
attendants, or just official ones in Rio? I think I know the answer, but
would like a more
qualified statement than my own here.

Borge

"Kurko" wrote in message
news
3. In 3rd world countries there are JOBS like parking attendants. These
guys have
actually licence to operate as such (atleast in Rio they do). There is no
MAFIA involved here, just some people trying to get their livelihood with
honest way (read
not robbing the tourists).

http://www.namibian.com.na/2002/june...2682E9E71.html

Thursday, June 13, 2002 - Web posted at 10:20:39 am GMT

Dead reporter unmasked Rio's macabre underworld

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, June 13 (Reuters) - The murder of a leading
Brazilian reporter who worked on a story about sex abuse and drugs in
a Rio de Janeiro slum shone a spotlight on the thin line dividing the
city's normal life from macabre underworld where drug gangs reign.


Answering accusations by reporter Tim Lopes' relatives that his
employer Globo television had failed to protect him, Globo editors
said Lopes was reporting in a public place, in a popular neighborhood,
and not on a clandestine event.

Indeed, hillside shantytowns that sprawl above the city's picturesque
skyline are home to hundreds of thousands of people who live in misery
but earn their bread honestly working as cleaning maids, waiters and
elevator boys in the city.

But dozens of gangs of gun-toting hoodlums who run the lucrative drug
and arms trade also operate in the slums.

Lopes, winner of the prestigious Esso prize for television journalists
last year for a report on an open-air drugs market, was this time
investigating a tip-off from residents of a slum about drugs and sex
abuse during wild dance parties.

Lopes, 51, had entered the Cruzeiro slum four times, twice reporting
with a hidden camera.

On June 9, a week after Lopes went missing, Rio police said a drug
lord known as Elias "the Mad" had tortured him and then shot him to
death.

Police arrested four suspects on Sunday and received the evidence from
them. Elias, who received his nickname for his extremely violent
methods, is at large.

Charred fragments and traces of blood were found in a cave near the
slum last week.

RISKY ASSIGNMENTS

Lopes' brother-in-law Andre Martins accused Globo of sending Lopes to
risky assignments and failing to protect him.

"He risked a lot, but he always acted on Globo's consent, fulfilling
its orders. It's the channel that has to evaluate risks, not the
reporter," Martins, in tears, told Reuters.

Workers Party parliamentary deputy Carlos Minc said some 700,000
people among Rio's 8 million live in slums run by drug gangs "in a
land without a state."

"They have the law of silence, curfew and have to produce foot
soldiers for gang wars," he said. "It's a return to barbarian times."

Drug gangs often outnumber and outgun the police force, and police are
accused of being on the bandits' payroll.

"The important thing is that residents were looking for help in the
media and not public authorities ... and it seems that we now cannot
do our work anymore," said Francisco Otavio, a colleague of Lopes who
also reports on crime.

"There used to be certain respect for journalists up the hill (in the
slums) that allowed peaceful coexistence, but now we run the risk of
turning into a Medellin," Otavio said, referring to the crime-ridden
Colombian city notorious for being the base of a drug cartel.

Lopes' murder was the first killing of a journalist from a nationwide
media outlet by drug gangs in Brazil, and prompted expressions of
indignation and concern by local and international media
organizations.

KILLINGS AND DANCE PARTIES

DNA tests of the remains and blood will be ready this week, police
said, but evidence points that it was Lopes' body been burnt in the
cave after he was shot, police said.

Detective Sergio Falante said the cave served as the venue for
killings in which victims' bodies are squeezed into several car tires
filled with gasoline and set on fire.

"Bandits call it a microwave and use it quite a lot with their
enemies," he said. "It was hard to tell whether we were dealing with
human remains before we found teeth in the mess."

Congressman Minc likened the method to those in Nazi death camps.
"Those who stand up against crime are being burnt in the oven, like in
Auschwitz," he said.

At the same time, police said on Wednesday they had found another body
in a clandestine slum cemetery and they were checking if that could be
Lopes.

Globo said Lopes was investigating a tip-off from slum residents that
drug gangs were hosting wild dance parties, known as "bailes funk," at
which drugs and sex flowed freely to lure new clients from the city
below.

"It seems they organized some kind of an erotic show in which they
offered young girls from the favela," Otavio said.

Bailes features loud music similar to rap, sometimes with songs that
call for killing informants or police, and youths staging mano-a-mano
fights to its beat.

WORKING ON THE EDGE

Lopes' colleagues and police said the journalist must have had an
agreement with the drug lords in order to simply enter the slum.
Strangers are not allowed in, and it is not uncommon for trespassers
to never return from a slum.

"You have to protect yourself by a treaty with the slum lords, but I
imagine filming with a microcamera wasn't part of any treaty," Otavio
said. "Tim always worked on the edge."

Just as in the case of the drugs market, Lopes, who was married and
had a son from a previous marriage, took a spy camera that can be
hidden in clothes on his latest assignment, his colleagues said.

"I'm sure bandits marked him to die since his program about the drug
market, which brought serious damage to them," said Falante, adding
that the slum where the first story was filmed and Cruzeiro were run
by allied gangs.

The Association of Brazilian Newspapers said Lopes' death would not
stop investigative reporters from doing their jobs.

"We declare that this tragedy will not stop us. As a tribute to our
slain colleague and to all Brazilian journalists, we reiterate the
commitment to truth that is our very reason for being," it said in a
statement. Nampa-Reuters





"B H" wrote in message ...
I think PETER PAN refers to my posting about crime/pickpocket aviodance
guide in a thread
further down here (rec.travel.latin-america).
I was the one who experienced the problem with the self-appointed parking
attendant.
I think there are at least two kinds of parking attendants. Official ones (I
think I have heard
that they have som kind of cloth or id to be sure they are official) and
self-appointed ones.
The one I met certainly looked highly unofficial to say the least. But from
there to say that
he is into some organised crime and mafia is taking it a bit far (but of
course I do not know that).
Can anyone shed some light on the facts here? Are there official and
self-appointed parking
attendants, or just official ones in Rio? I think I know the answer, but
would like a more
qualified statement than my own here.

Borge

"Kurko" wrote in message
news
3. In 3rd world countries there are JOBS like parking attendants. These
guys have
actually licence to operate as such (atleast in Rio they do). There is no
MAFIA involved here, just some people trying to get their livelihood with
honest way (read
not robbing the tourists).

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americ...carnival.reut/

Three policemen killed, ten wounded in ambush in Rio de Janeiro
Monday, February 16, 2004 Posted: 10:31 AM EST (1531 GMT)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) -- Three policemen were killed and 10
wounded in Rio de Janeiro when gunmen ambushed the bus in which they
were traveling in a new outburst of violence days before the annual
Carnival, police said Monday.

The policemen were returning from a security shift at the Maracana
stadium Sunday evening after an important soccer game between rival
Rio teams Vasco and Flamengo.

The bus was passing by a shanty town along the busy Avenida Brasil
thoroughfare on the city outskirts when it ran into a hail of bullets
from assault rifles and a machine gun.

The bus was completely destroyed. Police said they were investigating
the attack and did not comment further. Drug gangs control many of
Rio's slums.

Last year, the federal government deployed army units to safeguard
Carnival jamborees in the tourist mecca of Rio following a wave of
gang-related violence that included attacks on police posts, city
buses and even tourism spots.

Rio authorities have since toughened their fight against organized
crime and such incidents have become more rare recently. They say the
attacks are normally retaliation by drug gangs for tough police action
against them.

The oceanside city, where murder rates are among the highest in the
world, is swarming with tourists for five days of Carnival parades and
all-night reveling. The pre-Lenten festival officially kicks off
Friday, but loud samba processions have already taken to the streets.




"B H" wrote in message ...
I think PETER PAN refers to my posting about crime/pickpocket aviodance
guide in a thread
further down here (rec.travel.latin-america).
I was the one who experienced the problem with the self-appointed parking
attendant.
I think there are at least two kinds of parking attendants. Official ones (I
think I have heard
that they have som kind of cloth or id to be sure they are official) and
self-appointed ones.
The one I met certainly looked highly unofficial to say the least. But from
there to say that
he is into some organised crime and mafia is taking it a bit far (but of
course I do not know that).
Can anyone shed some light on the facts here? Are there official and
self-appointed parking
attendants, or just official ones in Rio? I think I know the answer, but
would like a more
qualified statement than my own here.

Borge

"Kurko" wrote in message
news
3. In 3rd world countries there are JOBS like parking attendants. These
guys have
actually licence to operate as such (atleast in Rio they do). There is no
MAFIA involved here, just some people trying to get their livelihood with
honest way (read
not robbing the tourists).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2806981.stm

Friday, 28 February, 2003, 22:46 GMT

Violence mars Rio carnival dawn

Rio's famous carnival celebrations have officially kicked off, after
Friday morning was marred by more street violence between security
forces and drug gangs.

Click here for more pictures
One armed gang of about 30 men initiated a three-hour shoot-out with
police on one of Rio's biggest thoroughfares, Brazilian media
reported.

A motorist died after being shot at point-blank range by one of the
group when he refused to give up his car.

Tens of thousands of armed police - and, for the first time, troops -
have been sent onto the streets to help guard Rio de Janeiro's
carnival following the wave of violence.

'Inferno'

In another incident, 28 terrified passengers on a bus bound for Sao
Paulo threw themselves to the floor when their bus was hit by a hail
of bullets and a Molotov cocktail.

The Brazilian newspaper O Dia said the Avenida Brasil, a dual
carriageway, was "transformed into an inferno: cars screaming off in
the wrong direction, a bus on fire and many bullets".

In addition to the man who died, other motorists were attacked and
ordered to abandon their vehicles in the incident, which occurred
during the early hours of Friday morning local time.

It was the latest in a string of attacks in which over 50 buses have
been torched.

On Monday shopkeepers were forced to close their businesses after
receiving threats.


More than 50 buses have been torched
The violence prompted the Brazilian Government - headed by Workers'
Party President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - to deploy military police.

He said the population was threatened by "insecurity, unrest and
fear".

Revellers vowed not to let the violence spoil the four days of
carnival, a pre-Lent festival of drinking and dancing.

Alex de Oliveira, who - at 135 kilograms (300 pounds) - was elected
carnival's Rei Momo (Fat King), received the symbolic key to the city
and festivities began.

No soldiers could reportedly be seen as evening approached.

Seaside Freddy

The authorities are blaming the violence on a drugs cartel, the Red
Command, which has thousands of heavily armed followers and controls
many of Rio's shanty towns.


Notorious gang leader "Seaside Freddy" was moved away
They say they intercepted the gang's leader giving orders on a mobile
phone from inside the maximum-security jail where he is a prisoner.

Fernandinho Beira Mar, or Seaside Freddy, as the gang leader is known,
has now been transferred to another prison in the neighbouring state
of Sao Paulo.

With 400,000 visitors expected for the celebrations over the coming
days, the city authorities say they are worried the violence could
affect Rio's tourist industry.

'No worries'

Rio state governor Rosinha Matheus said 36,000 police officers and
3,000 soldiers would keep the peace under an operation dubbed "Safe
Rio".

CARNIVAL
Associated with Christian period of Lent
Brazil samba schools introduced in the 1920s
Nudity officially forbidden in the Rio carnival
Rival carnivals include Trinidad and New Orleans
But our correspondent in Rio, Tom Gibb, says most visitors seem to
have taken little heed of the stories of violence.

Major Gilberto Tenreiro of Rio's tourist police said he thought the
worst was over.

"The violence was a phase that has already passed," he told news
agency Associated Press.

"We are doing everything to make sure tourists can enjoy carnival
without any worries."



"B H" wrote in message ...
I think PETER PAN refers to my posting about crime/pickpocket aviodance
guide in a thread
further down here (rec.travel.latin-america).
I was the one who experienced the problem with the self-appointed parking
attendant.
I think there are at least two kinds of parking attendants. Official ones (I
think I have heard
that they have som kind of cloth or id to be sure they are official) and
self-appointed ones.
The one I met certainly looked highly unofficial to say the least. But from
there to say that
he is into some organised crime and mafia is taking it a bit far (but of
course I do not know that).
Can anyone shed some light on the facts here? Are there official and
self-appointed parking
attendants, or just official ones in Rio? I think I know the answer, but
would like a more
qualified statement than my own here.

Borge

"Kurko" wrote in message
news
3. In 3rd world countries there are JOBS like parking attendants. These
guys have
actually licence to operate as such (atleast in Rio they do). There is no
MAFIA involved here, just some people trying to get their livelihood with
honest way (read
not robbing the tourists).

http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/opin/slogan2.html

A Thin Veil of Beauty
Shrouds Reality in Rio de Janeiro

by Sam Logan
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


I live in Rio de Janeiro. It is the friendliest town in the world and
arguably the most violent. You always see written in guide books and
on signs in tourist-trap bars here that the locals call this place the
"marvelous city." I never hear anyone say it though. True, Rio de
Janeiro is a beautiful place to live. But daily crime and violence may
soon overshadow the beauty. Many claim it already has.
Marginalized for decades by the Brazilian State, impoverished masses
live in the many slums or favelas that occupy the steep hillsides of
Rio. They live in another world, a Hobbesian world. There is little
other recourse but to live in a modern day fiefdom, where drug lords
impose social order in exchange for silence and soldiers - a form of
forced reciprocity according to Children in Organized Armed Violence
Director, Luke Dowdney.

Drug lords use their money and influence to improve favela life, and
many who live there are content with the help, even if justice for
slight infractions is lethal and swift. Yet many who live in the
favelas admit they rather live under the drug lords. In their eyes,
honesty works in the favela, where as outside, politicians breed lies
and corruption, and policemen shoot first, asking questions, if at
all, later.

Daily favela "blitz" occupations, whereby civil police enter and take
command of a favela, are executed like a military operation in this
city. And the ensuing gun fights between the police and drug soldiers
increase the odds of violent death, whether or not your corpse is
found holding a gun or your child.

Why the favelas are both slums and battlefields is directly related to
a well documented historical trend. Forty years ago purchasing a
pistol, Uzi, AK-47, or grenade was not convenient or necessary for the
masses here. Some people had weapons, but most did not. Over time, the
drug trade and gang institutionalization produced a need for arms.
Brazil is now a leading small arms importer in the world.

Simple economics then explains why drug dealers, thieves, and many
working-class Brazilians, including taxi drivers, now carry a pistol.
Automatic weapons are ubiquitous among gang members. Police retaliate
in kind.

Hand guns, especially revolvers, are more available and cheaper than
ever. According to a clandestine arms dealer, who lives in a favela
here, 50 Brazilian reales (some $18 dollars) buys you a .38 caliber
revolver. Such a low price mixed with a common mistrust of police
results in a serious problem with small arms proliferation. Add
extreme poverty, police corruption, a thriving arms trade and
institutionalized criminal gangs, and you've got the core reason why
Rio de Janeiro is such a dangerous place to live, especially if you
live in a favela or work for the police.

Meanwhile, Brazil's current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has
finally won the coveted post this past year. After eight months as
Brazil's commander in chief, Lula has managed to form a political
coalition in Congress, practice prudent economics and meet some
campaign promises. But crime in Brazil, especially in her cities, is a
problem much more pressing upon the consciousness of all Brazilians,
if not the Executive office. But more pressing is a lack of political
will to generate a genuine social policy to improve life for those who
live in the favela. But they gave up on the Brazilian government long
ago and have chosen what is now known as the "parallel power" to
maintain a social contract.

It seems Lula can do little to implement the social programs that
might begin to change life in the favelas because he is too embroiled
in political disputes over pension and land reform, and international
trade. So until he and the rest of Brazil's privileged politicians
take a sincere approach to educate and employ Brazilians who live on
the margins of society, the shadow of crime in this city will continue
to block out the beautiful light that illuminates the beaches, and the
eyes, of those who live here.

Also see:

Over Four Thousand Small Arms Destroyed on Eve of UN Conference
by Sam Logan
About the author: Sam Logan is a freelance journalist living and
working in Rio de Janeiro. As an American with over five years of life
and experience in Latin America, Sam covers human security and social
development stories in South America. He speaks English, Spanish and
Portuguese and has lived in Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Chile, and
Brazil since 1998. Sam is from New Orleans, and is currently
completing a Masters in International Policy Studies with the Monterey
Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California.

Published in In Motion Magazine September 28, 2003




"B H" wrote in message ...
I think PETER PAN refers to my posting about crime/pickpocket aviodance
guide in a thread
further down here (rec.travel.latin-america).
I was the one who experienced the problem with the self-appointed parking
attendant.
I think there are at least two kinds of parking attendants. Official ones (I
think I have heard
that they have som kind of cloth or id to be sure they are official) and
self-appointed ones.
The one I met certainly looked highly unofficial to say the least. But from
there to say that
he is into some organised crime and mafia is taking it a bit far (but of
course I do not know that).
Can anyone shed some light on the facts here? Are there official and
self-appointed parking
attendants, or just official ones in Rio? I think I know the answer, but
would like a more
qualified statement than my own here.

Borge

"Kurko" wrote in message
news
3. In 3rd world countries there are JOBS like parking attendants. These
guys have
actually licence to operate as such (atleast in Rio they do). There is no
MAFIA involved here, just some people trying to get their livelihood with
honest way (read
not robbing the tourists).

http://www.namibian.com.na/2002/Octo...289DED645.html

Tuesday, October 1, 2002 - Web posted at 10:33:55 GMT

Drug lords shut Rio de Janeiro; police move in

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Thousands of businesses in
crime-plagued Rio de Janeiro shut down on Monday fearing that drug
lords had ordered a lockdown just days before general elections in
Brazil.



Police commanders sent all units into the streets to try to
re-establish order after many stores and schools failed to open,
including some in the busy city center and the posh South Zone, with
its famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches.

It was the first time the South Zone had received the alleged orders
from drug lords for businesses to close shop.

"This is unheard of and completely absurd, especially in election
week. All our battalions are in the streets to guarantee safety, all
administrative work has been stopped," police spokesman Maj. Frederico
Caldas told Reuters.

A manager at the Copacabana Palace, one of Rio's most famous luxury
hotels, said the concierge was telling guests it was not safe to go
for a walk and that shops were closed. A worldwide express delivery
service and several banks were shut in the center.

Residents of the Ipanema neighborhood awoke to the sound of machinegun
fire and complained that they could not buy food.

Authorities were unsure whether the order was authentic or a rumor run
amok, but suspected it may be linked to next Sunday's vote.

"We don't want to politicize this act but such interpretations are
unavoidable," Caldas said.

Drug traffickers have long turned Rio's favela slums into "no-go"
areas for police, who only invade them in military-style operations.
Gangs, equipped with machine guns and grenade launchers, often
outnumber and outgun police, and use humble favela residents as human
shields.

No big drug lords had died recently, which is normally the reason for
shop closures, Caldas said. The gangs operate from shantytowns but
have rarely extended the closures beyond a few poor northern
neighborhoods.

SHANTYTOWNS SEIZED

Caldas said police units were seizing control of hillside favelas, or
shantytowns, near districts where businesses were shut, especially
those run by the ruthless Red Command drug gang. Nine people were
arrested for delivering the messages.

President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, on the campaign trail for his
handpicked presidential candidate Jose Serra, tried to soothe worries,
saying the situation was under control.

Police also tried to persuade frightened proprietors to open their
doors. Officers patrolled some neighborhoods, talking to shop owners
who stood behind closed shutters.

But those who reopened doubted police could protect them.

"We are open but are ready to close at any moment. That policing
doesn't help because they stick around and then leave, but what comes
next?" said drug store employee Marcos Ribeiro.

"I feel under siege in this city," said hairdresser Carlos Cabral, who
had closed his shop. He complained gas stations were all closed so he
could not fill up his car and go home.

Rio de Janeiro state Gov. Benedita da Silva, who has tried to clamp
down on crime, is running for the post again in the election, when
Brazilians also elect a new president.

"One of the reasons could be the organized crime's reaction. There
have been 1,700 arrests recently," she said at a news conference. "To
me, it is an orchestrated act with a political connotation."

She said police would reach out to businesses to create a better line
of communication if the orders, or rumors of them, began to spread
anew.

Caldas later said he expected shops to reopen on Tuesday and that
police were ready to act again to contain the worries should another
"order" spread across the city.

(NAMPA/REUTERS)



"B H" wrote in message ...
I think PETER PAN refers to my posting about crime/pickpocket aviodance
guide in a thread
further down here (rec.travel.latin-america).
I was the one who experienced the problem with the self-appointed parking
attendant.
I think there are at least two kinds of parking attendants. Official ones (I
think I have heard
that they have som kind of cloth or id to be sure they are official) and
self-appointed ones.
The one I met certainly looked highly unofficial to say the least. But from
there to say that
he is into some organised crime and mafia is taking it a bit far (but of
course I do not know that).
Can anyone shed some light on the facts here? Are there official and
self-appointed parking
attendants, or just official ones in Rio? I think I know the answer, but
would like a more
qualified statement than my own here.

Borge

"Kurko" wrote in message
news
3. In 3rd world countries there are JOBS like parking attendants. These
guys have
actually licence to operate as such (atleast in Rio they do). There is no
MAFIA involved here, just some people trying to get their livelihood with
honest way (read
not robbing the tourists).

http://threehegemons.tripod.com/thre...blog/id64.html

At Your Great Peril, Defy the Lords of the Slums
By LARRY ROHTER


IO DE JANEIRO, June 27 Gang leaders had taken control of the weekend
funk dances in the neighborhood, selling drugs openly and forcing
young girls to have sex with them. The police had been alerted but had
done nothing, so the residents of the slum known as the Favela da
Grota turned, like so many others here before them, to the crusading
crime reporter Tim Lopes.

Mr. Lopes was last seen on the night of June 2, on his way to one of
the raucous dances. The charred remains of the camera he was carrying
have been found, but Mr. Lopes never returned, and two gunmen for the
drug lord who controls the neighborhood have horrified the city by
boasting to reporters and police officers that he was kidnapped and
killed on orders of their boss.

Press and rights groups here and abroad have condemned the killing,
with the Inter-American Press Association warning that "criminals and
organized crime are defining the limits of freedom of expression"
here. But for Rio's 5.8 million residents, the death of one of the
city's best-known reporters is the most chilling demonstration yet
that hillside shantytowns here have become gang fiefs.

"We are seeing the emergence of a new form of criminal organization,
one that actually controls and governs a geographically defined
territory," said Walter Maierovitch, Brazil's former anti-drug czar.
"These gangs have become a challenge to the state, parallel
governments that threaten Brazil's democracy and the rule of law."

Mr. Lopes, 50, specialized in undercover investigations, often using a
miniature camera and microphone hidden on his body. He dressed up as
Santa Claus for one investigative report, spent two months as a drug
rehab patient to obtain another, and last year won Brazil's equivalent
of the Pulitzer Prize for a vivid account of open-air drug markets in
Rio's favelas, as the city's 513 squatter settlements are called in
Portuguese.

It was that report that led residents of the Favela da Grota to place
their confidence in Mr. Lopes, himself born in a slum here, instead of
the police, who are widely viewed as corrupt and incompetent. The slum
dwellers hoped that their plight would be publicized on "Fantástico,"
a popular Sunday night television program that is a cross between "60
Minutes" and "Inside Edition."

The police now say that Mr. Lopes was executed by Elias Pereira da
Silva, a powerful drug lord known in local tabloids as "Elias the
Madman. The two garrulous gang members, who are in police custody,
said that they saw the reporter being shot in the feet to prevent him
from fleeing. Then, they said, he was tortured and cut to pieces with
a samurai sword, after which his body was burned.

Mr. da Silva, a main leader of a powerful crime group known as the Red
Command, was accused of killing four police officers in 1993 and in
1996 was jailed on drug charges. But he was released two years ago
after police officers failed to show up to testify against him in
court hearings, enabling his lawyers to file a successful habeas
corpus petition.

Since then, Mr. da Silva, 35, and other gang leaders have become even
more powerful, enforcing their will through intimidation and violence.
"They are the law, the only law, and you have to obey them whether you
like it or not," said Clarissa Fonseca de Bastos, a street vendor who
lives in a favela known as the Morro da Formiga, or Anthill.

In some neighborhoods, residents say, drug lords now determine when
stores and schools open and close, who can enter or leave and where
and how houses can be built. Their authority is most pronounced in the
favelas, which are home to more than a million of Rio's residents, but
it is also beginning to extend to middle-class neighborhoods.

A European journalist living here, for example, was recently
approached by subordinates of the drug dealer who controls a nearby
favela. They said "the boss" had ordered her to trim a 100-year-old
tree that was blocking his view of an approach road used by the
police.

The reporter refused, not wanting to put her home in the line of fire.
But after a burst of gunfire just outside her house that day, she told
the gang members that they could trim the tree themselves if they
desired.

Better armed than the police and increasingly bold, gangs have even
begun to attack government offices. The windows of City Hall were shot
out this week. Last month grenades were thrown and machine guns fired
at the state Secretariat of Human Rights while senior officials met
inside; in another gang assault, the secretary of economic development
and five other people were taken hostage at their office.

"From here on in," read a note signed by the Red Command and left
behind at the human rights office, "any arbitrary action against our
jailed brethren will be answered in kind with bullets."

In another recent incident, a midafternoon shootout between the Red
Command and its main rival, the Third Command, forced the closing of
one of the city's main tunnels, which comes out near the state
governor's residence. At night, gangs routinely block tunnels or set
up checkpoints on isolated streets, unhampered by the police, and rob
or kidnap unwary motorists.

Even more ominously, drug lords are increasingly acting as judge, jury
and executioner, a development actually welcomed by some slum
residents in the absence of the police. While searching for Mr.
Lopes's body, a police team discovered a clandestine cemetery with the
remains of an estimated 50 people sentenced to death, residents said,
by gang "tribunals."

The new governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Benedita da Silva,
has promised to put more officers on the streets. But shantytown
residents say the main problem is not the number of officers but their
unwillingness to confront criminal gangs.

"At the first burst of gunfire, the police always turn and run away,"
said Geraldo Lopes Bulhoes, a street sweeper who lives in a slum
called Vidigal, adding, "We have no one to protect us, no one at all."



"B H" wrote in message ...
I think PETER PAN refers to my posting about crime/pickpocket aviodance
guide in a thread
further down here (rec.travel.latin-america).
I was the one who experienced the problem with the self-appointed parking
attendant.
I think there are at least two kinds of parking attendants. Official ones (I
think I have heard
that they have som kind of cloth or id to be sure they are official) and
self-appointed ones.
The one I met certainly looked highly unofficial to say the least. But from
there to say that
he is into some organised crime and mafia is taking it a bit far (but of
course I do not know that).
Can anyone shed some light on the facts here? Are there official and
self-appointed parking
attendants, or just official ones in Rio? I think I know the answer, but
would like a more
qualified statement than my own here.

Borge

"Kurko" wrote in message
news
3. In 3rd world countries there are JOBS like parking attendants. These
guys have
actually licence to operate as such (atleast in Rio they do). There is no
MAFIA involved here, just some people trying to get their livelihood with
honest way (read
not robbing the tourists).

http://www.americaspolicy.org/articl...azil_body.html

Impoverished Brazilian Youth Face Little Option but to Die Young
Sam Logan | September 16, 2003

Americas Program, Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC)
www.americaspolicy.org

A 16-year-old drug dealer with a sack of cocaine next to a 15-year-old
soldado with a Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle, holding sway over
younger children on the playground.

Photo Credit: Anja Kessler

Rio de Janeiro is not a city at war. The UN does not consider it a
focal point of armed violence. Yet for its underserved youth, it most
certainly is. Between December of 1987 and November 2001, violent
death claimed 3,937 Cariocas, or local residents, under 18 years of
age. By comparison, during the same time period, 467 minors died in
and around the West Bank between Jordan and Israel, which is
considered a war zone by the international community.

The impoverished adolescents of Rio's slums, faced with limited
options, join organized crime that, often as not, leads to their early
and violent death. They are not child soldiers in the strict sense of
the term, but neither can they be considered ordinary delinquents when
drug lords arm them with war-grade weapons and pay them monthly
salaries.

They are victims of years of poverty, social marginalization, and drug
gang institutionalization.

For some 20 years, Rio's slums, known as favelas, and their 1 million
inhabitants have become increasingly independent of the Brazilian
state. This has resulted in the institutionalization of organized
gangs that provide community security services otherwise
conventionally delivered by government actors. Because the favela
exists outside any normal social contract between civilians and state,
another social order, enforced by drug gangs and their soldiers, or
soldados, as they're called here, prevents crime such as rape and
theft, rewards honesty, and punishes infractions with lethal force.

In this extra-legal system of order, drug lords rob the favela of its
youth. Due to the long-term nature of violence in Rio's favelas, drug
lords turn to younger soldiers to defend the favela from rival gangs
and conventional forms of justice represented by the military and
civil police: Sustained high death rates have killed off would-be
adult soldiers. Today's soldiers are often between 16 and 18 years of
age, some as young as 14.

According to Children and Youth in Organized Armed Violence (COAV)
Executive Coordinator Luke Dowdney, the adolescents of Rio's favelas
turn to the drug trade after making well-informed decisions based on a
number of factors. "Poverty, the institutionalization of drug
factions, and the lack of access to the traditional work market is
common to everyone who lives in the favela, yet only 1% of favela
inhabitants are involved in the drug trade," Dowdney states.
"Adolescents, particularly, are attracted to the social ascension and
the status achieved by working with a drug gang." Dowdney adds, "Peer
groups and family members, especially mothers, contribute to reasons
why youths choose to get involved or not." Male youths involved in
drug gangs represent 5% to 6% of the 1 million Brazilians living in
Rio's favelas.



But they are not involved for just the money and social status. They
are involved because there is often no other option for survival: to
eat, buy clothes, and pay rent. "A soldier in the wealthier favelas
may earn up to 1,500 to 2,000 reales [$500 to $650] a month, which is
significant, but in most cases he has no other option but to turn to
the drug trade to eat," Dowdney says. Many armed adolescents admit
they will not live to see 18 years of age. The majority of armed
adolescents are between 15 and 17 years old because the homicide rate
jumps over 820% for those drug gang soldiers 18 years of age or older.
They work on a kill-or-be-killed basis, and 50% of armed youth have
been directly involved in killing, according to COAV.

Before dying these kids make their mark. According to the director of
local anti-violence NGO Viva Rio, Rubém Cesar Fernandes, two policemen
die a week due to violent confrontations with armed adolescents here.
"[The cops] are scared, and because of their fear, they shoot first
and ask questions later," Fernandes said, adding, "The kids respect
policemen who come in shooting, not the ones that come in to talk."
The current dismal condition of Brazil's justice system and prisons
only adds to the problem. Nearly 95% of all homicide cases do not even
make it to court, according to Fernandes. Both the cops and the armed
adolescents know that there is little other option than to shoot to
kill or die trying.

Meanwhile, in South Africa, where the disparity between rich and poor
has created a similar situation, social observers have begun to see
trends toward what they call a "new medievalism," which describes
fortified enclaves of the rich with private armies to protect them
from the neighboring poor who have turned to violence to make a life
on the fringes of society, according to Institute for Security Studies
Senior Researcher Ted Leggett. Considering Rio's wealthy neighborhoods
are surrounded by nearby favelas, a new medievalism situation could
easily take root if state actors continue to ignore the problem.
"Brazil needs police reform, sustained truce with the drug gangs,
social programs to educate the poor, and urban works projects to turn
the favelas into neighborhoods," Leggett said.

Yet Mr. Leggett and others who have proposed solutions to the problem
of institutionalized urban violence claim that even before undertaking
police reform and education or employment programs, state authorities
must make a clear decision to approach the problem with a long-term
commitment. "After 20 years of drug gang institutionalization, we must
have at least 20 years of social reform to improve the situation,"
argued Dowdney.

But the political will for such a long-term policy is elusive, as is
funding. And the current policy of so-called "blitz"
occupation--whereby highly trained civil police enter and occupy a
favela with the same lethal force and shoot-to-kill mentality employed
by soldiers in battle--championed by current Rio de Janeiro State
Secretary of Security Anthony Garotinho only exacerbates the problem.
Until the political leadership changes, Rio's impoverished youth will
continue to die young, and both armed adolescents and cops will
continue to be victimized.

Ask any policeman here about combating armed youth in the favela and
you will learn that the rite of passage from rookie to veteran
continues to be measured not by days on the beat but by life and
death. Veterans are hardened individuals. Because here in Rio de
Janeiro, it is said that the difference between a living veteran and a
dead rookie is the split second it takes to think twice about killing
a child because you never know if he is armed or not.

Sam Logan is a journalist in Rio de Janeiro
and a 2004 candidate for Master of International Policy Studies at the
Monterey Institute of International Studies.




(JB) wrote in message . com...
Peterpan,

you've seen a lot of crosstalk showing you the fact from basically two
different points of view, both were im my first post. Don't let some
harsh posts from some scb participants upset you. For some of them the
points I summarize below are so obvious that they are upset to find
somenone that ignores them.

First, don't walk after dark in any big city, unless you're looking
for trouble. It may be a valid advice even in your home town. Big
cities are, and have always been, a hideout for criminals because it's
the best place to be anonymous. Nighttime, again, is favourable to
such people. It seems you're kind of romantic and like to walk alone
at night, when everything looks different. But be realistic: it's not
wise to do it in big cities, dark and empty streets. That's what Kurko
meant whith "Actually these "thugs" should've removed you from the
genepool". The thugs were a lot wiser than you. They were exploring
"their" area as the spider inspects its net, and they are never alone.
You're very lucky. When I saw the list of cities where you walked by
at night I was astonished. For your information, I avoid Barata
Ribeiro (and many other places) at night, even by car.

Second, don't generalize, mainly when you're extending to a whole
country the impressions you've got from a big city at night. It's not
wise, again.

Brazil (and other countries as well) have thousands of fine places to
go and have big fun. Why do people insist in big cities, that look
almost the same all over the world. But if you really want to go,
don't forget the first paragraph.


(P E T E R P A N) wrote in message m...
I walked many cities at night, including LA, San Francisco, New York,
Miami, London, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala
Lumpur, Denpasar, Jakarta, Buenos Aires, Montevideo ... without any
problems!

It is the stupid, nasty *sshole like you and dumb thugs, thieves,
robbers and the savages, who would p*ss on sidewalks and someone else'
cars on the busy streets of Rio in broad day light, who should be
removed from the gene pool! Stupid, ignorant nasty trash like you are
a shame and a grave threat for all mankind!

As everyone can see, this nasty guy Kurko confirms that Brazil is a
very unsafe, lawless place, populated by a lot of dumb savages like
himself. Visitors to Brazil, Rio and Sao Paolo, have a very high
probability of getting robbed or beaten. Don't expect local people to
help when you need it!


Kurko wrote in message ...
Hello!

Excuse me, but by all means who is such a stupid **** to walk during the
night in any major
city in the world.

Actually these "thugs" should've removed you from the genepool.


Kurko

On 7 Mar 2004 18:10:33 -0800, P E T E R P A N
wrote:

Dear JohnM,

For one thing, the entire incident happened very quickly, in a matter
of 1 or 2 minutes. I was in fear for my life and I did not have a lot
of time or in position to think of all alternative courses of actions.
I just acted instinctively. This was the first time I faced potential
violence in some 30 years. I was never in more fear, even in downtown
Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York City at night! The local
Brazilians all think I was very lucky to escape death or serious
injuries that night!

You could have suggested precautions or solutions, rather than trying
to pick holes in my story, which just shows that you are not
sympathetic to a lone tourist in distress, but are probably siding
with the thugs, victimizing unsuspecting preys! I do not believe you
have good, unselfish motivations in this case!

When the initial thug confronted me, I had walked past the café a few
houses. The customers were sitting inside the cafe due to the rain. I
was roughly past the Hotel Mirasol with its large glass front across
the street. When I glanced other thugs running toward me from other
corners, a vision of my lifeless body lying in a pool of blood was
very clear in my head! Instinctlively I felt back tracking towards
the café would put me closer to the incoming thugs. I pulled the first
thug out to the middle of the street, roughly in front of the hotel
Mirasol, and screamed "HELP, HELP, HELP…" but there were no response
from anyone, anywhere. In a matter of seconds, I decided that "
POLICIA …" may work better and immediately started bellowing. I had
to make quick decisions and ran fast basically to save my own life. I
saw running cars with head lights on Rebata Reveiro and I quickly ran
towards them.

When I rethink the whole incident, the closest hotel would have been
the Mirasol, which would have staff in the lobby. But I am not sure
if they would bother to open their door to assist a tourist in
distress. The Copacabana Hotel Residencia was definitely not
interested in helping or taking any actions. The police also acted
very casually, as if they ran into these violent incidents many times
everyday. Despite the warm personality of the policemen and their
willingness to help, I had reservations that they could be effective
after dealing with them. I had my distrust then, and I declined to
get into their patrol cars for the search or to return to the hotel!

A number of people, presumably with more experience in Brazil, have
since written me private emails suggesting I skip Brazil. I found,
through my own experience, some serious flaws of characters in the
Brazilian people in Rio, such as the couple guys I found the first day
who would pee openly on the streets in broad day light, sometimes on
someone else cars' doors, right on very busy streets like Rebata
Reveiro or Copacabana. Every street in Copacabana stinks of urine and
fresh sewage! These are bad things that happened in the best parts of
Rio, not in the favela, where the impoverished residents may deserve
excuses for their uncivil actions. I also found some disturbingly bad
attitudes among various young, old, educated and wealthy Brazilians in
Rio, Sao Paolo etc… which I will write down when I have time.

My opinions of Brazil and her people, after much reviews of the
events, facts and rationalizations, to be honest, very low. I do not
stand to gain or lose anything by posting my information and opinions
on Brazil. I do it only to inform fellow travelers. I advised a new
friend in Rio, a pretty girl from Spain, against walking in the rain
at night in Rio which she felt was romantic! A number of people
emailed me suggesting not walking in Rio at all!

Your attitude helps convince me firmly that Brazil is not on top of
the list of countries I want to visit!


JohnM wrote in message
...
In article , P E T E R
P A N writes

-- snip snip --

I had gotten out of the internet store late at night and stopped to
buy cigarettes at a small coffee shop next door, which still had a
dozen people, customers and waiters. As I walked out of the shop, I
stopped on the sidewalk to lit a cigarette. That was when this dark,
scruffy guy, wearing a white shirt, came out of nowhere, talking to me
in Portugeese. I thought he wanted a cigarette so I offered him the
pack. He ignored my offer, kept talking firmly and threateiningly in
Portugeeze, repeating the phrase "No problem...". I moved out to the
street. He blocked my way, grabbing and holding my shirt firmly with
both hands. I pulled away, he refused to let go. At the same time,
out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a few other guys running toward us
from the dark street corners. The street was dark, wet and deserted.
Suddenly there was noone on the street but the thugs.

-- snip snip --

Erm, continuity problem there, as my editor might say. Was the street
wet, dark and deserted, despite the coffee-shop you had just walked out
of with its dozen people inside? Why didn't you just walk back in if the
guy attacked you 'as you walked out'?

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m.../article.jhtml

Hot in the city: crowded jails and drug economics push Latin American
cities to their limit on crime.

Latin Trade, Jan-Feb, 2003, by Mery Galanternick

On a recent Friday night, Fernando Gamma bumped his Ford Corsa into
another car in Copacabana. He called the police on his cellular phone
to report the crash so his insurance company would pay for the damage.
After 45 minutes, the police did not show. He called again. The voice
on the other side said: "Listen, mister, we're living in a chaotic
city with shootings everywhere. Yours is not a serious case. Please be
patient:'

A wave of violence has taken over this city Criminal gangs have forced
businesses, schools and banks to close and fired machine guns at the
governor's palace in Rio de Janeiro. A gang member threw a band
grenade at a large shopping center, and their members have assaulted
police stations and patrol cars.

It's hard all over the region, as weakening economies fuel drug and
crime waves. In Sao Paulo, the murder rate hit 1,000 per month in
2002. Crime in Buenos Aires has tripled since 1991, the decade of its
supposed economic advance. Mexico City, meanwhile, hired iron-fisted
ex-New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to combat off-the-hook lawlessness
in the capital, where kidnapping has turned into an industry.

But violence in Rio is breaking scary new ground. On Sept. 30, known
as "Black Monday:' stores, banks, offices, schools and markets in this
city of 5.8 million were forced to close on orders of jailed drug
lords unhappy with their living conditions. It was the first time that
Copacabana and Ipanema neighborhoods in the posh south zone had
received lock down orders from gang leaders behind bars.

At Ipanema's fashionable Top Center building, retail store managers
blame violence for the sales slowdown. "Customers aren't coming to Rio
anymore; they are scared," says Marli Alves, manager of Gang, a store
that specializes in jeans.

Concerned with increasing chaos, Rio's 334,000-member Federacao do
Comercio issued a first-ever survey on security expenses for the
business community. In Rio's metropolitan area, companies now spend
US$56 million a month on security. Businesses spending the most are
jewelry stores, shopping centers and hotels.

"Violence permeates every major city, but when drug lords start giving
orders, this is not normal," says Alfredo Lopes, president of the
Brazilian Hotel Industry Association. Hotel occupation has fallen 15%
compared to a year ago, while Embratur, Brazil's Tourism Agency,
reports only 29% of foreigners traveling to Brazil visited Rio in
2001, compared to 41% a decade ago. A decline in traveling Argentines
and terrorism jitters have affected Rio, of course.

Fighting back. Despite the near state of siege in Rio, business
leaders are eager to point out that economic growth in metropolitan
Rio has not halted. Many multinationals have opened offices in Rio.
None of them have moved or closed doors because of crime--so far.

"We recently renovated the Sepetiba port. We're building a
petrochemical center' says Orlando Diniz, head of the Federacao do
Comercio. "We have good highways to distribute our products, and our
employees have a higher literacy


(JB) wrote in message . com...
Peterpan,

you've seen a lot of crosstalk showing you the fact from basically two
different points of view, both were im my first post. Don't let some
harsh posts from some scb participants upset you. For some of them the
points I summarize below are so obvious that they are upset to find
somenone that ignores them.

First, don't walk after dark in any big city, unless you're looking
for trouble. It may be a valid advice even in your home town. Big
cities are, and have always been, a hideout for criminals because it's
the best place to be anonymous. Nighttime, again, is favourable to
such people. It seems you're kind of romantic and like to walk alone
at night, when everything looks different. But be realistic: it's not
wise to do it in big cities, dark and empty streets. That's what Kurko
meant whith "Actually these "thugs" should've removed you from the
genepool". The thugs were a lot wiser than you. They were exploring
"their" area as the spider inspects its net, and they are never alone.
You're very lucky. When I saw the list of cities where you walked by
at night I was astonished. For your information, I avoid Barata
Ribeiro (and many other places) at night, even by car.

Second, don't generalize, mainly when you're extending to a whole
country the impressions you've got from a big city at night. It's not
wise, again.

Brazil (and other countries as well) have thousands of fine places to
go and have big fun. Why do people insist in big cities, that look
almost the same all over the world. But if you really want to go,
don't forget the first paragraph.


(P E T E R P A N) wrote in message m...
I walked many cities at night, including LA, San Francisco, New York,
Miami, London, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala
Lumpur, Denpasar, Jakarta, Buenos Aires, Montevideo ... without any
problems!

It is the stupid, nasty *sshole like you and dumb thugs, thieves,
robbers and the savages, who would p*ss on sidewalks and someone else'
cars on the busy streets of Rio in broad day light, who should be
removed from the gene pool! Stupid, ignorant nasty trash like you are
a shame and a grave threat for all mankind!

As everyone can see, this nasty guy Kurko confirms that Brazil is a
very unsafe, lawless place, populated by a lot of dumb savages like
himself. Visitors to Brazil, Rio and Sao Paolo, have a very high
probability of getting robbed or beaten. Don't expect local people to
help when you need it!


Kurko wrote in message ...
Hello!

Excuse me, but by all means who is such a stupid **** to walk during the
night in any major
city in the world.

Actually these "thugs" should've removed you from the genepool.


Kurko

On 7 Mar 2004 18:10:33 -0800, P E T E R P A N
wrote:

Dear JohnM,

For one thing, the entire incident happened very quickly, in a matter
of 1 or 2 minutes. I was in fear for my life and I did not have a lot
of time or in position to think of all alternative courses of actions.
I just acted instinctively. This was the first time I faced potential
violence in some 30 years. I was never in more fear, even in downtown
Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York City at night! The local
Brazilians all think I was very lucky to escape death or serious
injuries that night!

You could have suggested precautions or solutions, rather than trying
to pick holes in my story, which just shows that you are not
sympathetic to a lone tourist in distress, but are probably siding
with the thugs, victimizing unsuspecting preys! I do not believe you
have good, unselfish motivations in this case!

When the initial thug confronted me, I had walked past the café a few
houses. The customers were sitting inside the cafe due to the rain. I
was roughly past the Hotel Mirasol with its large glass front across
the street. When I glanced other thugs running toward me from other
corners, a vision of my lifeless body lying in a pool of blood was
very clear in my head! Instinctlively I felt back tracking towards
the café would put me closer to the incoming thugs. I pulled the first
thug out to the middle of the street, roughly in front of the hotel
Mirasol, and screamed "HELP, HELP, HELP…" but there were no response
from anyone, anywhere. In a matter of seconds, I decided that "
POLICIA …" may work better and immediately started bellowing. I had
to make quick decisions and ran fast basically to save my own life. I
saw running cars with head lights on Rebata Reveiro and I quickly ran
towards them.

When I rethink the whole incident, the closest hotel would have been
the Mirasol, which would have staff in the lobby. But I am not sure
if they would bother to open their door to assist a tourist in
distress. The Copacabana Hotel Residencia was definitely not
interested in helping or taking any actions. The police also acted
very casually, as if they ran into these violent incidents many times
everyday. Despite the warm personality of the policemen and their
willingness to help, I had reservations that they could be effective
after dealing with them. I had my distrust then, and I declined to
get into their patrol cars for the search or to return to the hotel!

A number of people, presumably with more experience in Brazil, have
since written me private emails suggesting I skip Brazil. I found,
through my own experience, some serious flaws of characters in the
Brazilian people in Rio, such as the couple guys I found the first day
who would pee openly on the streets in broad day light, sometimes on
someone else cars' doors, right on very busy streets like Rebata
Reveiro or Copacabana. Every street in Copacabana stinks of urine and
fresh sewage! These are bad things that happened in the best parts of
Rio, not in the favela, where the impoverished residents may deserve
excuses for their uncivil actions. I also found some disturbingly bad
attitudes among various young, old, educated and wealthy Brazilians in
Rio, Sao Paolo etc… which I will write down when I have time.

My opinions of Brazil and her people, after much reviews of the
events, facts and rationalizations, to be honest, very low. I do not
stand to gain or lose anything by posting my information and opinions
on Brazil. I do it only to inform fellow travelers. I advised a new
friend in Rio, a pretty girl from Spain, against walking in the rain
at night in Rio which she felt was romantic! A number of people
emailed me suggesting not walking in Rio at all!

Your attitude helps convince me firmly that Brazil is not on top of
the list of countries I want to visit!


JohnM wrote in message
...
In article , P E T E R
P A N writes

-- snip snip --

I had gotten out of the internet store late at night and stopped to
buy cigarettes at a small coffee shop next door, which still had a
dozen people, customers and waiters. As I walked out of the shop, I
stopped on the sidewalk to lit a cigarette. That was when this dark,
scruffy guy, wearing a white shirt, came out of nowhere, talking to me
in Portugeese. I thought he wanted a cigarette so I offered him the
pack. He ignored my offer, kept talking firmly and threateiningly in
Portugeeze, repeating the phrase "No problem...". I moved out to the
street. He blocked my way, grabbing and holding my shirt firmly with
both hands. I pulled away, he refused to let go. At the same time,
out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a few other guys running toward us
from the dark street corners. The street was dark, wet and deserted.
Suddenly there was noone on the street but the thugs.

-- snip snip --

Erm, continuity problem there, as my editor might say. Was the street
wet, dark and deserted, despite the coffee-shop you had just walked out
of with its dozen people inside? Why didn't you just walk back in if the
guy attacked you 'as you walked out'?