Soldiers and police officers in abundance in the streets, surveillance cameras by the thousands: Rio de Janeiro, a mecca for tourism and the Art of living in Brazil, has been transformed into an ultra-monitored fortress for the G20 summit.
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For this summit, the “Wonderful City” welcomes leaders from around the world who will meet Monday and Tuesday at the Museum of Modern Art, a setting nestled in the heart of a green space with a breathtaking view of the famous Sugar Loaf.
Famous for its beaches and breathtaking landscapes between ocean and mountains, Rio is also a very violent city.
During the first half of this year, no less than 1,790 homicides were recorded in Brazil’s second most populous metropolis, or one every 2.5 hours, according to data from the Monitor da Violencia collective.
Organizing such an event in the heart of Rio is “a real challenge,” admitted the president of the municipal committee for organizing the G20, Lucas Padilha.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva issued a decree entitled Guarantee of Law and Order (GLO), which allows the army to be mobilized in exceptional security situations.
Nearly 25,000 soldiers and police deployed
Some 25,000 soldiers and police are deployed throughout the city, including at ports and airports. Armored military vehicles are stationed around the Museum of Modern Art, located near the city center.
The museum is very close to Santos Dumont Airport, usually used for domestic flights and closed during the two days of the summit. Street surveillance is provided by more than 5,000 cameras, as well as drones and helicopters.
This strong security system is particularly visible near the hotels where around fifty delegations are housed, and from where official convoys depart. That of the Chinese delegation, housed in a hotel below a ledge on the edge of the ocean, is made up of no less than 25 vehicles.
Navy ships also monitor Rio’s two most tourist beaches, Copacabana and Ipanema, to which access is restricted.
In order to facilitate traffic in this city of six million inhabitants with numerous traffic jams, the town hall decided that the two days of the summit, Monday and Tuesday, would be public holidays.
The Cariocas thus have six days off in a row, Friday November 15 and Wednesday November 20 already being traditional public holidays. Administrative buildings, banks and schools are closed, but bars and restaurants will remain open. “Rio will not experience a normal period,” warned Mayor Eduardo Paes, asking for “collaboration” from residents.
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