Brazil’s Olympic party starts despite political clouds

AS Rio de Janeiro counts down the days until the 2016 Olympics, one favela in the city is keeping a different toll.

Morro dos Prazeres, a hilltop shanty community once blighted by gun violence, is celebrating 63 days without armed confrontations between police and gangs. “This is the fruit of cooperation and internal dialogue to stop this conflict,” said Charles Siqueira, a community activist. “We stay motivated to keeping a state of peace.”

The campaign, inspired by the traditional “Olympic Truce”, is a rare success story amid continued political and economic turmoil before the Games.

At the same spot in Copacabana where in 2009 Brazilians celebrated winning the right to host the Olympics, protesters were this weekend supporting the impeachment of suspended president Dilma Rousseff. A recent poll by research institute Datafolha showed that as many as half of the public disapproved of hosting the Olympics. Almost two thirds felt the event would bring more disadvantages than benefits, while another survey found support for interim president Michel Temer was as low as 13 per cent.

Ms Rousseff has refused to attend the opening ceremony in protest at the inclusion of Mr Temer, who will receive 45 world leaders as Brazil’s acting head of state. “With great sadness, I don’t see any sense in being present at the ceremony,” she said last week, adding she still had hopes it will show “the grandeur of being the first Olympics to be held in Brazil and South America.”

On Friday, the day Rio welcomes the world at the Maracanã stadium, a senate committee is due to read a report assessing the case for Ms Rousseff ’s impeachment for allegedly disguising public accounts before her re-election in 2014. The report is expected to go to a vote during the first week of the Games, with the final trial likely to take place in between the Olympics and Paralympics at the end of August.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s popular former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a key figure in securing the Olympics, found out on Friday that he will stand trial for allegedly obstructing anti-corruption probe.

A protest against the interim government was also due to take place today. “We will not accept the silence of the Olympic city, as Rio is one of the cities capable of showing the world our indignation,” organisers said.

With the shadow of impeachment hanging over the Games, both Ms Rousseff’s supporters and critics are likely to try to seize upon the Olympics as a means of scoring political points.

“Pro-Dilma movements [will] take advantage of international attention for new demonstrations against the interim a landmark government,” said Juliano Griebeler, a political analyst. “Still, if the Olympics are a success, Temer will be able to use the result in his favour to show that there were no serious disruptions … despite the process of impeachment being under way.”

A staggering 85,000 security staff have been recruited for the Rio 2016 Olympics, more than double the number deployed at London 2012. A little over a week ago, police arrested 10 alleged terror plotters, said to be sympathetic to Isil.