Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is facing impeachment charges for allegedly breaking public finance laws, and the country is mired in a gigantic kickback scandal involving state-run petroleum company Petrobras, reports CTV News.
Amidst the turmoil of a flagging economy, increasing inflation, the added possibility of cuts to the Olympic program, and the ongoing problem with increasing pollution of Rio’s water venues, a report on the doping crisis that has seen Russia declared non-compliant with the world anti-doping code will seem like small potatoes to the IOC committee.
Because the country is in one of the worst periods of recession since the 1930s, the Rio organizing committee has already seen budget and services cuts. When the Rio organizers meet with the IOC committee, the only good news will be that they are on schedule regarding accommodations, infrastructure and transportation needs.
Carlos Nuzman, head of the Rio organizing committee, will be expected to reassure the IOC that despite the economic and political crisis going on, the 2016 Olympic Games will still be held on August 5, 2016. It is questionable if Nuzman can give such assurances.
Impeachment proceedings were brought against President Rousseff just last week by a political rival. She is being accused of breaking fiscal responsibility laws by taking money from state-run banks to fill budget gaps and pay for questionable government social spending. While analysts think the president will survive the accusations, it is still anyone’s guess what will happen.
Olympic funding has not escaped the turmoil in the country. Rio organizers are trying to cut 2 billion reals ($530 million) from the Olympics budget. This will amount to about 30 percent of the 7.4 billion reals ($1.9 billion) initially put aside for the event. The cuts would affect “behind the scenes” facilities.
“We are discussing with our partners, especially the IOC, what kind of levels of service we can reduce,” spokesman Mario Andrada said last week, according to the Star Tribune. “As long as we don’t compromise the games, the quality of the competitions, the experience of the public — then we have to look for efficiencies.”
Interestingly, there was a point last week where organizers said the athletes would have to pay for their own air-conditioning in the Olympic village because of the cuts. But this was later rescinded by the organizers, saying they would provide free air-conditioning. The Rio organizers have yet to sign a contract with a private power company to provide electricity for the games. This means power may have to come from temporary generators.
There are still concerns over the amount of severe pollution affecting the waters to be used for sailing, rowing and canoeing venues. In a new round of testing, the Ledger-Gazette is reporting the Associated Press found that raw sewage was flowing into Guanabara Bay, the Rodrigo Freitas Lagoon, and the Copacabana Beach. The testing also found that the bacterial and viral contamination is extending far offshore.
