Favelas In Brazil

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The largest South American country, Brazil, has been widely known for its shantytown areas within the urban cities, primarily in Rio de Janeiro. Also called favelas, these slums were built by homeless soldiers in the late nineteenth century. Later on black slaves moved in due to the lack of work and land ownership. Since then, they have been occupied by poor Brazilian citizens who face the same issues. According to the 2010 census, nearly 6% of the population live in favelas which is approximately 11.25 million people (BBC). The reason there is such a significant number of people living in the slums is because of the unequal distribution of wealth in the country. The richest 20% receive thirty times more than the poorest 20%, and this statistic …show more content…
The narrator explained that “slum tourism” is increasing in Rio de Janeiro and foreigners are attended by young tour guides as they walk through the narrow streets and small buildings. They also are able to observe the favelas by cable car with an aerial view. One of the important points from the video was that there had been less drug trafficking and violence since the government employed policemen on the streets. Obviously these ideas go against the concepts of favela life mentioned in class including oppression and class …show more content…
I’m convinced that they’re focusing on improving the lives of the wealthy more than the people in need which isn’t logical at all. Although their current social welfare program called Bolsa Familia has made some impact, favelas are continuing to expand. There hasn’t been any significant advancement in reducing poverty since 2010. Billions of dollars are going towards building sports stadiums on the major events instead of education, healthcare, housing, and other social programs. The poorest citizens are receiving little to no attention about their issues. During the World Cup broadcasting, only the rich areas of Brazil were shown including the newly built towers and the beautiful art structures and paintings. I fear that hosting the World Cup and the Olympics will only support the wealthy because government officials have become increasingly corrupt and that creates an inevitable problem for the