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: public safety Rio de Janeiro
Rio opens doors long kept shut / Abrem-se portas cariocas, após décadas
It used to be that the more money you had, the more you shut yourself off from the rest of society in Brazil. This is what many Rio de Janeiro restaurants looked like until around 2008. Antigamente, quem tinha mais … Continue reading
BRAZIL’S BERLIN WALL FALLS; NOW WHAT?
Rio’s South Zone celebrates and worries Monday morning. Rio de alma lavada, “Rio’s soul washed clean”, touted a newspaper hanging off a corner newstand. In only four days, civil and military police, with the help of the Brazilian army and navy, … Continue reading
War in Rio: roundup
The controversial decision to utilize 800 army personnel plus airforce helicopters to battle Rio’s druglords means war, indeed. O Globo‘s headline today, pictured at the lower right-hand side of the screen, is “D Day for the War on Drug Traffic”. … Continue reading
Conflict in Rio can only end in peace
This video, recorded by a helicopter-borne TV Globo camera crew flying yesterday over Vila Cruzeiro in the Penha section of Rio, is quite frightening. It shows armed men massing in an alleyway of the favela, jumping off motorcycles as they … Continue reading
Fotos exclusivas de esquadrão anti-bomba em Ipanema/Exclusive photos of anti-bomb squad in Ipanema
[UPDATE/ATUALIZAÇÃO] O Globo reports the boxes were part of an ad campaign, and that the bomb squad found a key inside the first box, pictured below. Here is coverage from O Dia. De acordo com O Globo, as caixas faziam parte … Continue reading
Pacification honeymoon is over
Police up the ante [UPDATE Nov. 24] Traffic was astonishingly heavy in the afternoon and light last night in Rio, as cariocas either stayed home or left work early, fearful about their safety. Rumors flew: a large company had sent … Continue reading
Elite Squad 2: perfect timing
Here is the trailer for Elite Squad 2 in English, opening Nov. 11, 2011 in New York and Nov. 18 in Los Angeles. On Oct. 31 2011, state legislator Marcelo Freixo, on whom one of the movie’s characters is based, … Continue reading
Public order moves towards permanence
[UPDATE DEC. 8, 2010 O Globo reported that the military police will impose order on vehicular traffic in the Complexo do Alemão and Complexo da Penha, which is usually the reponsibility of CET, Rio’s traffic police. Military police commander Mário … Continue reading
None of this shall come to pass…
Rio de Janeiro, 2017 The Olympics are over, a knockout success. The city was peaceful and tourism increased exponentially. A lot of people made a lot of money. Lula is still retired, since Sérgio Cabral is president of Brazil, now … Continue reading
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