Rivaldo Gives Warns Fans to Stay away from Rio Olympics
Brazilian
soccer legend Rivaldo offered a foreboding message over Instagram on
Sunday to fans considering traveling to Rio de Janeiro for this summer’s
Olympics: Stay away.
“Things are getting uglier here every
day,” Rivaldo posted to his Instagram (via Yahoo). “I advise everyone
with plans to visit Brazil for the Olympics in Rio — to stay home.
You’ll be putting your life at risk here … Only God can change the
situation in our Brazil.”
Rivaldo’s comments, which specifically
had to do with the recent death of a 17-year-old girl, are indicative of
the Brazilian public’s animosity toward the 2016 Games. When the
Olympic torch arrived in the city on May 3, the ceremony was marred by
heavy protests. Protests are only expected to grow stronger.
It’s not hard to understand the
Brazilian outrage. If the goal of hosting the Olympics is to put the
best of one’s country on display, this summer’s games could to do the
exact opposite for Brazil beneath the international spotlight.
The country’s government is deliberating over whether to impeach
President Dilma Rousseff. The economy remains in a major recession,
leaving Brazilians angered over the decision to allocate millions of
public dollars for the construction of stadiums that, if history is any
lesson, will go to waste immediately after the games conclude.
And certain bits of construction still
need to be finished. A key subway extension that will shepherd thousands
of fans between downtown Rio and the Olympic village is unfinished, and
there is reportedly no backup plan if it is not done in time. At least
one stadium has missed key construction deadlines.
Meanwhile, the Zika virus remains a worry for visitors. Two
sewage-infested bodies of water (Guanabara Bay and the Rodrigo de
Freitas lagoon) have already made visiting athletes sick, and though
officials are working to clear trash from the water and its shores, the
risk of infection or sickness may be still inevitable come August.
What’s more, a newly opened bike path
that was meant to be a positive symbol of the Olympics’ lasting
contribution to the city collapsed over the ocean in April, killing at
least two
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