Brazil Seeks to Evict Indigenous Community to Make Way for Sports Contests

Posted on Jan 12, 2013

Arthur Boppré (CC BY 2.0)

Brazilian authorities want to kick 30 members of the Maracana tribe out of a former indigenous museum where they have been living for six years in order to build support structures for the 2014 World Cup.

The building in Rio de Janeiro is next door to a stadium that is expected to reopen in the next few months to host several other matches in addition to the famed soccer competition. The stadium will have a total capacity of 78,000 spectators.

Police are expecting a legal order to evict the community from the historic building, which was built in 1862. A nearby school is also slated for demolition to make way for a parking lot.

Officials in countries where expensive construction projects in support of sports competitions are proposed usually claim the investments are a boon to the economy because of expected increases in tourism surrounding the events. The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics left a landscape of deserted and unmaintained structures, some of which may not be paid off for 30 years.

—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

The Guardian:

World Cup organisers in Brazil say the area need to be cleared for the circulation of fans during the 2014 World Cup.

… The community hoped to be able to showcase their way of life to tourists during the World Cup.

Opposition legislator at the Rio de Janeiro Assembly Marcelo Freixo said tourists “would rather see a historic building next to the stadium than a car park or fast food joint”.

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