Security in Brazil

Brazil has for a longtime been a city of poverty and crime. In the past two(ish) decades Brazil has been able to stabilize its economy. The benefits of that now are being put towards many social programs (Brazil is recognized for its Bolsa Familia program). Winning the Olympic bid made it that much more important for Brazil to make headway on fixing its social problems and increasing infrastructure. Despite leftist presidents, Brazil has undertaken conservative macroeconomic policies in hopes of attracting foreign investment, especially into the port area. With the recent discovery of offshore oil the future for Brazil looks only brighter. However, the areas known as favelas, especially those in Rio de Janeiro where the olympics will be held pose a big security problem. Drug trafficking gangs control the slums with violence, where most people survive on an informal economy and pirate their electricity, "living life outside the law." The city government is trying to reduce this violence so that the state can regulate this economy. They have only had some success as they still need to win over the faith of the poor.