Fast and Furious adventures in Rio de Janeiro?

Any fans of the Fast and the Furious movie series?  I loved seeing Rio on the big screen in Fast 5!

Brian and Dom in Fast 5

Although I love Rio like a second home, it has a dark, dark side that the World Cup and Olympic organizers don't like to publicize.  Take a look at this story Violent protests in Rio.  Most of the Carioca's (Rio's citizens) have very, very little and after understanding their situation, it's not hard to understand why violence like this often erupts.


Some areas of Rio are amazing!

Praia de Copacabana (Copacabana Beach)

Others aren't so amazing.

Favela (shanty town) in Rio

You can't even begin to imagine the poverty in the favelas (shanty towns).  They literally have nothing.  Well, most of the people in the favelas have nothing; the drug lords who live there are wealthy beyond belief.  And they're happy to share just enough to keep people alive and loyal to them.  Anyone who turns against the drug lords will likely find themselves dead very quickly.

"Why don't they turn to the police?" you might ask.  The poor souls in Rio who dare to join the police force are paid very little money, and there's a good chance that they will die at the hands of any drug lords they dare oppose.  The Government is corrupt beyond belief and subsequently can't/won't afford to pay the police a higher salary, so where do the cops go to get money to support their families?  You got it, the drug lords.  And in return the police leave the drug lords alone.  The people living in the favelas are stuck in a giant downward spiral.  I'm not saying it's right, but I think I would feel like smashing and burning things in the road if I was stuck in that life.

I'm a big fan of The Fast and the Furious movies, but Fast Five (the fifth installment that take place in Rio) almost had me laughing.  Remember the Brazilian cop (Elena) that Dom falls in love with?  She's supposedly an honest cop and guess where they show her living.  Yep, the favelas.  There is zero chance of that happening.  Sorry to disappoint any fans of the franchise :-).

As the World Cup and Olympics are approaching, Brazil has stepped up its efforts to clean up the mean streets of Rio and has done a decent job.  But it literally took the military to accomplish any semblance of order in Rio.  They have literally been at war with the drug cartels in the favelas for a few years and at one point they actually had a tank rolling down the streets of the favelas!

Anyway, it's a sad situation.  But hopefully now you understand a little more about the Cariocas and why some of them struggle so much.