Julia Michaels
Declaraçâo de missão / Mission Statement
IS IT GOING TO LAST?
I want it to. And to this end I’ll deliver information, independent and objective, bilingual and multimedia, about the momentous transformation that began in 2008 in Rio de Janeiro.
Is it just a mask? In 2017, should we expect the BMWs to revert to pumpkins and the politicians to turn back into myopic rats?A BLOG WITH AN AXE TO GRIND
I want it to last. I want the changes to be deep and real. I can see that the way cariocas are thinking and talking about favelas and their residents reveals new tolerance, concern and solidarity.
The more we know about what’s going on, the more we can contribute to the process, whether we are cariocas born and bred, transplants like me, onlookers, investors, tourists, transients, or cynics.
I will give you links, original reporting, questions, ideas, images, sounds, reflections, answers and more questions. No bullshit. You won’t have to read between the lines. My only agenda is I WANT IT TO LAST.This is Rio Real, a blog created in 2010 by Julia Michaels, an American writer, editor and journalist who has lived in Brazil for more than thirty years.
If you speak both languages, I suggest you read both texts. I’ll be providing more context in English and more detail in Portuguese.
We’re still pinching ourselves. Only five years ago you couldn’t walk in Ipanema and talk on a cell phone, for fear someone would snatch it off your ear. Now everyone has a cell phone, everyone walks and talks. You thought cariocas were a relaxed sort.
But only now are they finally starting to chill!
Construction is booming, favelas have an increased police presence (and more social services as well) rents and real estate are up, jobs and income are on the increase, education indicators are heartening, frozen yogurt is everywhere, health and sewage are getting serious attention for the first time possibly ever, the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas is being cleaned, new restaurants and shops are opening, Brazilians are moving here from other cities, the beaches are policed, drunk driving is almost nonexistent, the Olympics are coming, the metro is expanding and best of all, key parts of the city are safer than since just about any carioca can remember. Politicians are buddies: President Lula da Silva, elected in 2002, and then President Dilma Rousseff, after 2011; Governor Sérgio Cabral, reelected in 2010 and mayor Eduardo Paes, reelected in 2012, are working in concert to turn around the decadence that set in back in 1960 when the capital moved to Brasília.
But will it last, will the politicians persist and businesses invest?
Please tell me what you want to know about. Meanwhile, I’ve got tons of questions…VAI DURAR?
Quero que dure. Para que dure, me lanço mar adentro pelas águas da mídia social para fazer oferenda à Iemanjá: informações, independentes e objetivas, bilíngues e multimídia, sobre a transformação histórica que começou há quatro anos no Rio de Janeiro.
É apenas uma máscara? Em 2017, os BMWs irão voltar a ser meras abóboras e os políticos, ratos míopes?UM BLOG POSICIONADO
Quero que dure. Que as mudanças sejam profundas e reais. Constato que os cariocas pensam e falam das favelas e de seus moradores de maneira diferente do passado, que revela uma nova tolerância, consideração e solidariedade.
Quanto mais informações tivermos sobre o que acontece, mais poderemos contribuir, quer sejamos cariocas da gema, adotivos como eu, observadores, investidores, turistas, flaneurs ou cínicos.
Vou postar links, reportagens minhas, perguntas, ideias, imagens, sons, reflexões, respostas e mais perguntas. No bullshit. Nada de entrelinhas. Minha única agenda é QUERO QUE DURE.Chegou Rio Real, um blog criado em 2010 por Julia Michaels, escritora, editora e jornalista americana que mora no Brasil há mais de trinta anos.
Se você fala tanto inglês como português, sugiro que leia os dois textos. O inglês terá mais contexto e o português, mais detalhe.
A gente ainda não acredita. Apenas cinco anos atrás, não se podia caminhar em Ipanema e falar no celular –apesar dos seguranças fortões da Richards e da Mr. Cat— pois um assalto era certeza.
Agora, todo mundo tem celular, todo mundo se dá ao luxo de perambular e fofocar. O carioca tem fama de ser relax, mas só agora a noia está começando a se dispersar.
Cresce o número de construções, temos as UPPs e a ocupação social das favelas, esquenta-se o mercado imobiliário, há mais empregos e a renda cresce, os dados educativos são animadores, as lojas de frozen yogurt se espalham, pela primeira vez a saúde e o saneamento básico recebem atenção pra valer, a Lagoa está ficando limpa, abrem-se lojas e restaurantes novos, brasileiros de outras cidades chegam para morar no Rio, nas praias temos o choque de ordem de verão já adentrando o inverno, a Lei Seca pegou, os Jogos Olímpicos estão a caminho, o metrô se expande, e o melhor de tudo é que partes importantes da cidade estão mais seguras do que qualquer época que o carioca consiga se lembrar. Em todos os níveis governamentais, os políticos se tornaram amigos de infância: Dilma, Cabral e Paes estão trabalhando juntos para reverter a decadência que se instalou em 1960, quando a capital se transferiu para Brasília.
Mas vai durar? Será que os políticos irão persistir e as empresas vão investir— ou seja, se comprometer com o futuro a longo prazo?
Me diga o que quer saber. Da minha parte,tenho muitas perguntas...PESQUISA / POLL
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Tag Archives: pacification Rio de Janeiro
Who (or what) is doing the helping?
Brazilians are great networkers, but– “A crack addict in the Turano favela where I work with the new police pacification force was lying on the ground near me and asked for help,” Corporal Evandro Frossard told RioRealblog as he patrolled … Continue reading
Best ever, well best in a very long time
[UPDATE, October 2011 – Carnival blocos attracted a record 4.87 million to Rio’s streets, according to Riotur, the municipal tourism agency. This was 83% more than was expected. For Carnival 2012, 476 blocos have applied for a parade permit.] Carnival … Continue reading
Reduced sentence for police who come clean
Rio governor sends landmark bill, for Brazil, to state legislature …on-duty police officers involved in drug-related corruption engage in serious criminal activities such as (1) conducting unconstitutional searches and seizures; (2) stealing money and/or drugs from drug dealers; (3) selling … Continue reading
Nothing seems impossible now, not even reducing police corruption
[UPDATE FEB 16, 2011: An internal power struggle led yesterday to the departure of Civil Police Chief Allan Turnowski and the appointment of Martha Rocha, a career police official, as his replacement. Perhaps a woman chief –Rio’s first– will carefully … Continue reading
Moving deeper into no-man’s lands
Ricardo Henriques speaks at last; some Vila Cruzeiro residents wish they hadn’t, and the Sambadrome carnival parade may be well-protected “A youngster age 20 from a community controlled by the [drug] traffic grew up during a war. So the culture … Continue reading
Crime is down in Rio state, to record lows
Rio state’s 1991 is New York City’s 1963 State Public Safety Secretary José Mariano Beltrame announced yesterday that Rio de Janeiro state’s 2010 homicides, robberies, car thefts and other crimes have hit startling lows— and in some cases set records for … Continue reading
Rethinking Rio architecture
“If you close your eyes and pretend there’s no mountains or sea, it’s a tragedy.” –Lauro Cavalcanti, Paço Imperial museum director and architect, in O Globo Jan. 29, 2011 O Globo‘s culture section, the Segundo Caderno, ran a cover story … Continue reading
Does Santa exist? The professional and the personal in Rio
[Para português, clique aqui] Better to keep things separate The euphoria begins as soon as the state takes control of territories formerly under drug traffickers’ thumbs. Police and favela residents become friends. Police officers waltz with favela debutantes. In at least … Continue reading
Social assistance: old-style government persists in Rio
Musical chairs are good only for those who get to sit in them O Globo reported today on page 19 of its Rio section, in a story that couldn’t be found online, that the speaker of Rio’s state legislature , … Continue reading
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