Less than 50 days out from the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games, the state of Rio de Janeiro has declared a financial state of calamity. A decision on the payment has not yet been announced.
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Emergency measures are needed to avoid “a total collapse in public security, health, education, transport and environmental management”, a decree in the state’s Official Gazette said on Friday.
More than 10,000 athletes and half a million tourists are expected to arrive in Brazil for the Olympics, which has coincided with a political crisis and one of the country’s worst recessions.
“The games, they are guaranteed and will happen”, Andrada said.
Rio is hosting the first Olympics to be held in South America.
The financial pinch resulted in a 30% cut in the state’s security budget – just as Rio has seen a jump in homicides and assaults in recent months, raising concerns about safety ahead of the Olympics.
By declaring itself in a financial emergency, the state of Rio de Janeiro can now get its hands on extra funds from the federal government without the need to win support from state legislatures and parliaments.
State government employees, including teachers and police officers, have had their wages delayed. The oil-rich state of Rio de Janeiro has been especially hit by falling commodity prices.
“The state’s financial emergency in no way delays the delivery of Olympic projects and the promises assumed by the city of Rio”, Mayor Eduardo Paes said on Twitter.
But Rio 2016 communications director Mario Andrada said the announcement would “not have any effect” on the Games.
Rio state Finance Minister Julio Bueno said “security was the state’s biggest cost”, according to the Post.
Brazil plans to deploy around 85,000 soldiers and police during the Olympics, roughly double the number used at the London 2012 Games. “The government has already met all of its obligations with us”.
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Brazil’s interim president, Michel Temer, has already reportedly agreed to disburse federal funds to cover Rio’s shortfall, prioritising any projects considered necessary for the Olympic Games.
