Thursday, February 3, 2011

Santa Teresa "occupation" scheduled for Monday


I read on Twitter, via Jornal do Brasil, that the Bope is going to go into Santa Teresa favelas on Monday as part of the plan to take Rio back.  

What's with the warning?  

While people would like to think that drug traffickers aren't sophisticated enough to be following the Jornal do Brasil on Twitter, much less knowing how to use a computer in the first place, it's just not the case. Hell, we all know about the famous trafficker who had a deep respect for the artist known as Justin Bieber.  This only proves that traffickers are crazy people with their fingers in the randomest of pies. 

So why in the hell is the mayor sharing his upcoming plans? Would it not make far more sense for them to keep their mouths shut and, I don't know, sneak in and surprise people?

I think there's one of two options going on here.  First, the Government and traffickers are tired. They just feel it's better to play ball with each other. Government gives them a warning, traffickers run away, government "takes over" the favela, and everyone is happy.  No harm, no shooting. 

The other option is that the Bope is going black ops on our asses and will be sneaking in earlier or later. They will pop in at 1145pm on Sunday night and catch the traffickers unexpectedly. I mean, it would totally work. No one in Brazil shows up early for a party. It would be completely unexpected.  

Honestly though, the real business between the government, police, and traffickers is one we are not privy to. 
Personally, I think they all get together after the fact, drink fresh made Brazilian coffee, do lines of cocaine, and rock out to a little Bieber. 

But what do I know? I'm just one of the little sheep.  

6 comments:

  1. I think the official line is that this is a pacification process, not a war! They are giving people the chance to leave peacefully first, before they go in and occupy...

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  2. aka. Put the bazooka in the closet boys, we're coming.

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  3. It makes me think that what we saw at the movie "Tropa de Elite" is really what happens...
    They are all friends, the police gets money from the drug lords...but at the same time they need to show us, the sheep, that they are doing their police work.
    So, they let their thug friends know they are going into Morro Santa Teresa next week, the thugs then transfer their operations to the other Favelas until the police is gone and then come back.
    And afterwords they all have a big Barbecue with Mulatas, Samba and Beer and everyone participates, the mayor, the governor, drug dealer and police.
    Everyone is happy, the middle and upper classes continue to have access to buy their drugs and everyone go about their normal lives...
    I might be wrong, but this really seams to be what happens...
    Pacification force my as.., go in with freaking tanks and kill and arrest all these freaking thugs, but then again, where would they get their bribes...?
    I say if someone lives in Rio and ever used drugs, that includes POT, you are one of the individuals responsible for this ridiculous situation that shows no easy solution, everybody looses, not only your brain cells...everybody, including the Innocent 5 year old dead from a lost bullet in the war between police and your drug suppliers.
    I say legalize freaking drugs, let Phillip Morris and Sousa Cruz produce and distribute marijuana cigarettes in every bakery, grocery store and bar in Rio, allow the city to become a second option to Amsterdam and let's see what happens to the drug traffic...
    I guarantee you, they will have to find another activity pretty soon.



    Ray

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  4. "I say legalize freaking drugs, let Phillip Morris and Sousa Cruz produce and distribute marijuana cigarettes in every bakery, grocery store and bar in Rio, allow the city to become a second option to Amsterdam and let's see what happens to the drug traffic..."

    Ray, couldn't say it better myself! Hear us RIO?! Big cash crop, let's make some money to finally fill those potholes and put a little more money in the big men's pockets

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  5. One of my friends is BOPE. They go in to prepare for the UPP. The idea is to warn people and give them the chance to change lives (which will not happen) or leave, and not killing them.

    The main reason behind it is... marketing. Rio doesn't want/need more negative imagines in the media. Still now I have to explain visitors that Rio is not as dangerous as they might think and MUCH safer then many cities in the US.

    I would actually rather shoot them... but hey that's probably the reason why I'm not BOPE or active in Rio's politics :)

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  6. Rio4men, Thanks for the insight! I also have to tell everyone that everything is ok down here. Now, at least my circle of friends, has an understanding of things in Rio.

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