Waws 10:00 p.M. News, 5 May 2005
Rio hit the brakes on the car cable controversial favela.
When the government built a gondola on favelas, many saw it as a vanity project Now the cable car came to a stop Clare Richardson refers Rio.
The black cables scar the skyline of Complexo do Alemao line stopped working there several months for residents of the favelas below, they're a constant reminder of how even one of Rio de Janeiro projects most ostentatious of built before the 2016 Olympics was a victim of the financial crisis gripping the state.
From the beginning, plans for the cable antagonizes many people they saw the project as a symbol of Rio's investments in projects aimed at impressing international visitors while ignoring the real needs of its own people The transmission line is came with a high price tag of 210 million Brazilian reais - about 62 million - and many thought the money should have gone towards financing critical infrastructure to the favelas, as the establishment of a system formal sewers or improving safety.
Instead, residents have a short cable car last year, the state government stopped paying operating costs, and the service came to a grinding halt just a month after the end the Olympics.
Thaina de Medeiros, a member of a local activist media organization called Colectivo Papo Reto, saw the cable car as a bright white elephant.
It was a huge expense that wasn t the best use of money, the former 33, said during an interview in the local community center, which was forced to cut many of its educational programs due budget cuts before the cable car stopped running.
The terminal station is deserted side of a police station.
Officially, the car was built with money from the CAP, federal funding program for infrastructure in Brazil, and not specifically in the context of preparations for the Olympics Yet the flashy project and the time of its construction frown eyebrows.
The whole thing was a political show, Medeiros said the Olympics were coming, and the government had to prove that he was doing things for these communities Politicians just want to indicate the number of projects they've built and donated t care if they actually make a difference.
Many had hoped the Olympics serve as an impetus for Rio to reduce the wide gap between Brazil's ultra-rich and the poor by providing informal communities with badly needed infrastructure Yet instead of instating or improve these services in Complexo do Alemao, Rio removed more than 2,000 residents from their homes to make way for the construction of the cable car Medeiros said his road bypasses many large residential areas, suggesting the project was never really meant to serve the community.
Francois Camargo, a professional cameraman who gives tours of the neighborhood in his spare time, disagrees with the naysayers of the cable car, he thought it best to get something than nothing, even if the project was just for show.
This money went to wouldn t sanitation anyway, he said.
Camargo also thought the cable was a boon to the neighborhood because it has created a market for local businesses such as juice shops and souvenir stalls that met its traffic.
The cable companies supported restoration to his business, according to Francois Camargo.
The terminal station, Palmeiras had hosted a small library and a health clinic, which was closed when the service is stopped.
Now the area around the station at the top of the hill is sorry lacquered kiosks are shuttered, and other than some local children kites, the only people in sight are officers of the police unit Pacifier nearby.
Penha, passing one name, lives with his family on the other side of the hill.
Penha had used the cable car to get to another area called Morro do Adeus, where she collects bottles to recycle the money it was a 10 minute walk, but now the same journey takes her about an hour on foot.
In addition to creating business opportunities and reduce traveling time for some people, the cable also helped boost tourism Complexo do Alemao favela Critics say the service of tourists gave a birds eye view ogling poor communities below without setting foot in the sprawling district, where the security situation is precarious and shootings are common.
Yet Camargo think even the tourists were a positive addition to the community.
There's more pressure on the authorities to keep up appearances when tourists come here.
Now that the cable cars are gone, so visitors.
Daniel Nazzaro using market surveys for the Favela experience, an organization that offers guided walks through the favelas in Rio.
It's been a long time that we sold a tour of Complexo do Alemao, he said.
Izabela old Rubens grew up in the twenty-six region and used to give tours to another company.
The main attraction was the cable car, she said.
Escalation of violence in Rio de Janeiro has also made visits to Complexo do Alemao risky business Rubens said she stopped taking the visitors in the favelas when she began to fear for his safety about a year and a half.
As fighting Rio de Janeiro with a deep recession, it is hard to imagine funding to operate the cable car will be coming in the near future Secretary of Transportation of the State confirmed that there are no plans to restart operations.
Despite his initial opposition to the project, Medeiros admits he is sad to see the Cable Car.
I would like to see reopen I have friends living out of it, he said.
Now even the fiercest critics of car tuning cable If Rio was going to build a project with courtesy shuttle people over the favelas, the least they could do is to continue to run it.
Clare Richardson reported Brazil thanks to a grant of the International Information Project IJP Additional reporting by Anna Jean Kaiser.
Rio hit the brakes on the cable car favela controversial Americas, shots, brakes, controversial.