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Brazil under fire for WC slum evictions

Like his house, Jose Santos de Oliveira is an island of resistance. The middle-aged gardener and his home stand amid the sea of rubble that remains of the slum community of Vila Recreio 2 in the west of Rio de Janeiro.

Updated on: May 12, 2011, 01:23:08 IST
Reuters | By , Rio De Janeiro
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Like his house, Jose Santos de Oliveira is an island of resistance. The middle-aged gardener and his home stand amid the sea of rubble that remains of the slum community of Vila Recreio 2 in the west of Rio de Janeiro.

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The mistake of the around 200 families who used to live here? They were in the way of Brazil's makeover to host the world's biggest sports events in the coming years — in this case, one of three new bus routes aimed at easing congestion.

The 2014 soccer World Cup and the Olympic Games in Rio two years later are spurring a multi-billion dollar drive to upgrade infrastructure. But as work gets underway it has run up against a barrier —Brazil's slums.

Rights groups say poor residents appear to be losing out, raising early questions over whether the double-header of sporting ‘mega-events’ will help heal Brazil's deep social divisions or worsen them.

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