It is now almost 4 months until the 2016 Summer Olympic Games begin in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It will be the first time a South American country has hosted the Olympics, either Summer or Winter. Announced in 2009, Rio de Janeiro beat out the competing cities of Madrid, Spain; Chicago, United States; and Tokyo, Japan for the privilege of hosting.
Back in 2009, when it was first selected as an Olympic host, Brazil enjoyed a booming economy. Investors from all over the world were flocking to Brazil to capitalize on its markets. From 2000 to approximately 2012, Brazil had one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, even surpassing Great Britain in 2012. Along with the investors, tourists from all over the world also visited Brazil, reaching 5.17 million tourists in 2012 and contributing to $6.6 billion in tourism revenue. At the time of the International Olympic Committee’s decision to award Rio de Janeiro with the 2016 Summer Games, Brazil was one of the leading countries in the world, including economically, culturally, and technologically.
However, Brazil’s economy has taken a nose dive in the past few years. Brazil’s GDP is expected to decrease in 2016, and its economy has shrinked by approximately 2% annually since 2014. Compounding this decline in Brazil’s economy are several issues that have arisen recently. First, the outbreak of Zika virus is still threatening the lives of millions of people in Brazil, especially pregnant women. As a result, women who are pregnant or may become pregnant have been warned against traveling to the country. Furthermore, there is currently an enormous protest movement growing against the current President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, with many calling for her impeachment. To make matters worse, the facilities and conditions in which the athletes at the Olympics will compete are severely lacking. For example, Guanabara Bay, which is to host the Olympic sailing competition, is heavily polluted with millions of liters of untreated sewage. Copacabana Beach and Rodrigo de Freitas Lake, where other water competitions will take place, were also tested for viruses, and the results indicated that neither of the venues were fit for swimming. All of the samples tested also contained human adenoviruses, which can cause respiratory and digestive diseases. As a result, officials from the International Olympic Committee have even proposed moving the 2016 games to London, the host for the 2012 Summer Olympics, due to severely inadequate preparations by Brazil.
Amidst all of these issues, Brazil has had to put the Olympics on the back burner as it deals with enormous public health and political challenges. Over the next few months, it’ll be interesting to see how Brazil handles all the adversity that’s been thrown its way recently. With something as large as the Olympic Games fast approaching for the country, Brazil may even need to seek assistance from its allies and neighboring countries in solving its problems. All in all, I think Brazil and its people will be stronger and will have greater resolve for having dealt with such grave issues, all compounded by each other simultaneously.
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