New World Blogger

Rio de Janeiro state plans to wall off slums/Financial Times

"The government of Rio de Janeiro state yesterday proposed to build a wall around its sprawling favelas in an effort to help control rampant crime in the picture postcard city.

"The wall won't put an end to violence [in the slums] but if we don't contain it, it will destroy the [surrounding] forest, the economy of Rio de Janeiro and the lives of the city's residents," Luiz Paulo Conde, deputy governor, said on Monday.

The proposal comes after yet another wave of violence rocked parts of the city during the Easter holidays, shutting down commerce, and killing 10 people, including civilians, police and gang members."

Globo news reported last night on television that a school teacher was killed by a stray bullet in this same favela, Rocinha -- the largest in Latin America. Deaths like hers happen nearly every day.

But isn't fighting police inefficiency and corruption a better solution? Anyone ever seen City of God?