Games will go on, says Rio mayor as state declares cash ‘calamity’
THE state government of Rio de Janeiro has announced a “state of public calamity” over its financial crisis with less than 50 days until its capital city hosts the Olympics.
A decree published late on Friday said that a fall in public revenue – mainly a result of the oil crash – could stop the government from “honouring its commitments” to host the Rio 2016 Games with just 49 days until the opening ceremony. It also warned the crisis could cause a “total collapse in public security, health, education, mobility and environmental management”.
Already, at least one hospital said it was closing its doors tomorrow as a result of the financial crisis. The Pedro Ernesto University Hospital said it would suspend surgeries.
Ordered by the acting state governor, Francisco Dornelles, the decree authorised “exceptional measures” to guarantee the Olympics, already overshadowed by Brazil’s corruption scandal and the impeachment trial of suspended President Dilma Rousseff, as well as the threat of the Zika epidemic. Also on Friday the intelligence services raised security concerns with a warning that it had detected users exchanging messages in Portuguese linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) via Telegram, the messaging application used by the group.
The latest move by the state government is expected to lead to a cash injection from the federal government to see the state through the Olympics.
The state government is responsible for the crucial extension of the metro line towards the Olympic Park, which has fallen behind schedule, as well as the depollution of competition venues Guanabara Bay and the Lagoa, and public security. Mr Dornelles highlighted in the decree that Olympic teams would begin arriving this month to acclimatise for the Games, which start on Aug 5. He said the move was intended “to call the attention of the whole society of Rio to the problems the state has, opening the way for us to take very tough measures”.
Mário Andrada, executive director of communication for Rio 2016, told the
that the Games would not be affected. “We knew since last year that the financial state of Rio state was critical. They have fulfilled all their obligations for the Games,” he said.
Rio’s dire finances have left teachers, doctors and police officers unpaid for long periods, and hospitals on shoestring budgets. The doctors’ union, SinMed, has filed a complaint against the governor Luiz Fernando Pezão for the “crime of responsibility” over unpaid salaries and delayed funding.
Rio’s City Hall, which is responsible for the Games venues and other legacy projects, insisted that the order did not affect Olympic preparations. Eduardo Paes, the mayor, said: “The state of calamity in no way delays Olympic works and the commitments made by Rio. I want to reassert here the confidence that we will hold exceptional Games.”