Rio Olympics: a missed opportunity

I was in Rio de Janeiro for work last week. At the hotel reception, an English tourist was asking the receptionist whether it was dangerous to walk along Avenida Atlântica. This at 7 p.m. in the middle of a Wednesday. The answer was apparently reassuring: “yes, it is safe to walk around here at this time.” But the tourist did not seem satisfied.

I tried to help by providing some information. The tourist's concern was due to the mosquito that carries dengue, zika and chikungunya. But also the recently discovered superbacteria that was said to be present on some of Rio's beaches. And also safety. The receptionist seemed unable to understand properly and did not seem prepared to give the correct information.

While trying to give an honest answer, I kept reflecting on how an extraordinary moment such as the holding of the Olympics in Brazil can be loaded with such negative facts.

A short while earlier, I had left the airport for the hotel and witnessed a heavily patrolled city, with the newly arrived, heavily armed and equipped police officers of the National Force, the elite of the Brazilian police. It gave the impression that we were at war, and not facing an upcoming sporting event.

After all, on August 5, the whole world will be watching the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games at Maracanã stadium, the most important sporting event in the world. It would be the great opportunity for Brazil to show a new image to the world and an organizational capacity for which we are not known. Quite the opposite: our reputation as a country where things do not work is widely recognized.

But that opportunity has already been lost. Both to organize an event in an exemplary way and to leave a lasting contribution to the city and the country. Organizing an event of this magnitude requires complex coordination, as it involves government authorities at the federal, state and municipal levels, sports confederations, the Olympic Committee, the Organizing Committee, private suppliers and companies representing commercial interests, among many other organizations, in an intense planning and execution effort.

In Rio, problems keep appearing every day. Construction for the competitions delivered at the last minute. Corruption everywhere you look. Hugely overpriced construction projects, countless white elephants that will deteriorate in the months and years following the event. A multimillion-real bike path, recently inaugurated, that did not withstand the first big wave.

Environmental recovery, one of the great promises, abandoned. The city impresses as much for its natural beauty as for the filth and pollution of its rivers and sea.

We were not even able to guarantee that anti-doping tests would be carried out here. They will be sent to Switzerland, despite the multimillion investment made. The state government declaring its own bankruptcy a few weeks before the start of the event, unable to meet essential commitments such as paying the salaries of civil servants, only managing to cover its minimum expenses with R$ 2 billion in emergency aid from the federal government.

Growing insecurity, with public discontent among security agents and striking police officers telling tourists that they cannot guarantee their safety and saying “do not come.” Collapse of state public health services. Public transportation without most of the promised improvements. Education workers on strike for months.

What we saw most were inconsistent plans, reckless execution and questionable leadership. Of course, it can be argued that the depth of the economic crisis was not foreseen. But that does not excuse the tremendous failure of planning and organization. Holding a major sporting event is actually possible amid chaos and disorganization. Construction projects are built here and there – after all, there is no shortage of construction companies eager for publicly funded projects and politicians getting their cut. Special support is called in to have a minimum of security. Companies give employees collective vacations to ease transportation a little… And there you have it: an event that gives the appearance of being minimally organized, at least to be seen in the TV images sent all over the world.

But what about moving toward solutions for the city's deeper problems, the so-called legacy? Wasn't that what was promised and what was wanted with the World Cup and the Olympics?

And the international prestige that such an event would bring to the country? And the substantial increase in tourism? And the change in the country's image and reputation?

In the end, we will have enormous disillusionment and shame. That was the reflection I had when the foreign tourist asked me whether it would be possible to get around the city with a minimum guarantee of her safety.

I felt enormous frustration. I realized that we had lost an immense opportunity to show the world how capable we are of solving problems and improving our most famous city. But that, once again, we had lost that chance.

I would have liked to be able to say: welcome, enjoy our most beautiful city and enjoy the best Olympic Games in history. But I had to swallow hard and taste the bitterness of yet another failure. We hope that the sporting event itself will be a success, with records broken, exciting competitions and medals for Brazilian athletes, reducing part of the damage and the bad impression.

There will not be a transformation of the city as one might have expected. And the legacies will probably be few and doubtful. But the costs will be very heavy and long-lasting. As a lesson, we can acknowledge the embarrassment, not think that causing an embarrassment like this is normal, and see what needs to be done so that it does not happen again, even without a golden opportunity.

And it does not even need one. A clean, organized city with adequate transportation, security, public health, education, etc., should be the job of governments. With or without the Olympics or another major event. But, by the looks of it, we will remain the country of stalling, of kicking the can down the road, of lack of planning, of inability to execute, of mega-corruption and impunity.

To keep thinking that this is how we do things around here and that we should keep doing them this way is the sure path to continuing to have a country incapable of solving its basic problems.