The Olympic flame was flown into Brasilia on Tuesday to start a three-month relay through more than 300 towns and cities that will end with the opening of the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracaná stadium on Aug 5.
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Rousseff says “Brazil is ready to host the most successful Olympics in history”.
Political turmoil also has been a challenge, with Rousseff facing an impeachment case that could result in her being suspended from office as early as next week.
“We know political problems exist in our country today”, she said. Brazil is also fighting an outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus that threatens to keep some athletes and tourists away from Rio.
A LATAM flight took off from Rio de Janeiro’s Galeão airport on May 1st bound for Geneva, Switzerland to pick up some very precious cargo-the Olympic Flame.
Some are lured by cheaper travel deals with Brazil’s weakened currency, the real, which has made the country a bargain for visitors especially from the United States and Europe.
Another moment of great excitement in the torch relay was when 12-year-old Syrian refugee, Hanan Daqqah, carried the torch.
Wherever the torch goes, there will be a camera on it, Silva said. “This is an opportunity to reduce tensions between our political parties and get on with the rebuilding our economy”.
Hanan is the second refugee to carry the flame, after her compatriot Ibrahim Al-Hussein bore the torch last week through a centre for refugees in Athens, Greece. Now the case is being analyzed by the Senate and if they decide to continue with the process, Rousseff could be removed from office for 180 days to allow for a thorough investigation. “The right insists on making everyone believe that I’m paralyzing the country, but they are the ones seeking to destroy all the achievements of a social government”, she said.
Rousseff explained in detail the preparations being made in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest sporting event on the planet, to begin August 5, and said the country “has worked hard” and will continue to do so until its inauguration day.
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She said she was headed home to Sao Paulo “with this lovely torch”.
