Rio's transformation needs new phase
Cariocas are . Their mental map of it .
A great deal has been accomplished since Rio began its turnaround in 2007. After five disastrous decades, it鈥檚 as if we鈥檝e managed to clear away piles of rubble in the last four years, and set up a generally acceptable and peaceable modus vivendi.
But the time has come to dig deeper, to bring in the bulldozers, and pour solid foundations for institutions that can withstand the vagaries of Brazilian politics. Success on this front would lead Rio to make an important contribution to the development of Brazil鈥檚 democracy, which dates only to 1985.
What has been accomplished
Crimes targeted by the new public safety policy . The number of police pacification units continues to grow, with the current eighteen expected to jump to 28 by October, when ten units will set up in the Alem茫o and Penha favela complexes.
And, according to state Social Assistance and Human Rights Secretary Rodrigo Neves, Rocinha favela 鈥� together with Vidigal, a glaring reminder to the city鈥檚 South Zone that most of Rio鈥檚 600-plus favelas still lie outside the state鈥檚 full domain 鈥� will soon be occupied and pacified.
The cable car system in the Alem茫o complex , with apparent success at offering alternative transportation to the area鈥檚 500,000 residents. Already, discount .
The challenges ahead
But State Public Safety Secretary Jos茅 Mariano Beltrame recognized challenges in May, when .
, the social UPP has now accelerated its pace to a new favela a week and is set to operate in all pacified communities by October. trash collection, housing, police wages, lighting, drainage, mobility, sewage, and water piping, public areas, sports and leisure equipment, and water storage.
And O Globo newspaper on one of Rio鈥檚 most unsightly blemishes: police training and corruption. Plans are to change the classroom focus from war to peace, and open the door to outside instructors. Currently, for example, the looks and sounds like an introduction to some kind of gang-cum-heavy metal band, light-years from the values of community policing. By 2015, all 55,000 military and civil police officers are supposed to have retrained.
鈥淧olice should know that shooting is the last thing to do. The first is exactly what most are still unaccustomed to doing: learning to listen, to engage in dialogue,鈥� Juliana Barroso, state Undersecretary for Learning and Prevention Programs, told O Globo. Barroso moved to Rio from 叠谤补蝉铆濒颈补 about six months ago, to evaluate Rio鈥檚 six police schools and oversee the new program.
If Secretary Beltrame has his way, will stand out as a turning point, instead of one more death in an endless stream of impunity. Last week, the military police force ranging from conspiracy to torture and attempted homicide. Trials have been speeded up, with forty scheduled for this week; and the corp鈥檚 forward-looking commander general, philosopher and blogger , will have final say on the cases.
According to O Globo, over a thousand military and civil police officers have been fired for criminal activity since 2007, and the numbers of arrests are on the rise.
鈥淭his could produce a historic change in the military police, in the longer term,鈥� says Silvia Ramos, an academic researcher who recently conducted a . 鈥淸It could] turn the page in terms of a police force focused on war, on confrontation, belligerence, and the ideology of death to the lowlifes.鈥�
Who or what will carry on?
How deep is deep enough, when it comes to pouring sturdy foundations in a city such as Rio de Janeiro, where the subsoil is sandy and full of underground rivers? Observers from a variety of areas have expressed concern to RioRealblog in the last several weeks, especially after Governor S茅rgio Cabral鈥檚 botched handling of the firemen鈥檚 strike and the revelation of . They worry that the transformation of Rio is built on personal relationships, so much more transitory than institution-based policy responsibility, design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment.
Julita Lemgruber, a former prison administrator and sociologist with a focus on public safety, recently criticized the effectiveness of Beltrame鈥檚 attempt to get the military and civil police 鈥� traditional competitors, the former as street cops, the lattter doing investigative work 鈥� to collaborate. RioRealblog asked her about the RISPs, geographical units of the city for which military and civil police have joint responsiblity to bring down crime. Beltrame has said that Rio鈥檚 public safety policy is equally based on the police pacification units and the RISPs.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 work,鈥� Lemgruber said. 鈥淭he military and civil police should be having weekly meetings, planning, evaluating. They aren鈥檛 doing it.鈥�
--- Julia Michaels, a long-time resident of Brazil, writes the blog Rio Real, which she describes as a constructive and critical view of Rio de Janeiro鈥檚 ongoing transformation.
