The Brazilian government has announced multimillion-pound plans to build tourist guesthouses — pousadas — in one of the most notoriously violent corners of Rio de Janeiro.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva revealed the plans recently as part of a development project that also includes the construction of roads, crèches, hospitals and a convention centre in Rocinha, Rio’s largest shantytown, located in the city’s south zone.
Integrating the shantytown into Rio society was the first step in putting the area’s drug traffickers out of business, Lula said during a ceremony in Rio at which he signed the agreement with Rio’s governor, Sergio Cabral.
The pousadas are expected to be located in Laboriaux, one of the highest sections of the favela. The area boasts spectacular views over Rio’s undulating landscape but is also known for shoot-outs between drug traffickers and police and is located near clandestine cemeteries used by traffickers to dispose of their enemies.
Fernando Pezao, Rio’s vice-governorÂÂ, said there were plans to extend the infrastructure projects to other shantytowns in Rio. The city, whose population is around eight million, is one of the most violent in the world, with a murder rate of around 50 per 100 000 inhabitants. — Â