WEBVTT - Author Barbassa on Book About Rio's Challenge With the Olympics

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<v Speaker 1>That's a Bloomberg Business flash. This is taking Stock with

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<v Speaker 1>Bin Box and Kathleen Hayes on Bloomberg Radio. Rio de

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<v Speaker 1>Janeiro home of the Summer Olympics. It is also the

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<v Speaker 1>city in which the headquarters of Petro Brassays, well as

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<v Speaker 1>many other petrochemical companies and service industry companies are located.

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<v Speaker 1>And here to tell us more about the city is

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<v Speaker 1>Julianna Barbassa, author of the book Dancing with the Devil

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<v Speaker 1>in the City of God, Rio de Janeiro and the

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<v Speaker 1>Olympic Dream. Julianna, thank you very much for being with us.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for having me. Now. When the Olympic Games, when

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<v Speaker 1>the Summer Games were awarded to Rio in two thousand nine,

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<v Speaker 1>Brazil and the brazil An economy looked very different. Tell

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<v Speaker 1>us a little bit about the changing fortunes of the

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<v Speaker 1>country and also of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Well, indeed,

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<v Speaker 1>it looks very different from from what it looks like now.

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<v Speaker 1>It's as if the state of Rio, the city of Rio,

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<v Speaker 1>and the country had been turned inside out from that

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<v Speaker 1>moment back in two thousand and nine. I mean, back then,

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<v Speaker 1>the economy was booming, Brazil was seen as sort of

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<v Speaker 1>the next big thing internationally. Uh. Foreign direct investment was

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<v Speaker 1>at record highs. I mean almost every indicator that you

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<v Speaker 1>looked at, Brazil was doing really, really well, and the

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<v Speaker 1>installation was low. Politically it was stable. Uh. And then

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<v Speaker 1>there was a huge oil discovery off of Rio de

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<v Speaker 1>Janeiro's coast, which was expected to continue to bring in

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<v Speaker 1>money into the future. Uh, to remedy things like the

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<v Speaker 1>deficits and education and health that we're so important to

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<v Speaker 1>to Brazilian. So um, you go from that moment to

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<v Speaker 1>this one where you know, state of Rio camp you know,

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<v Speaker 1>paid police officers are, the hospitals are shuttered, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>for a lack of fund. Again, almost every indicator is

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<v Speaker 1>looking at negative. President is facing impeachment. It's an entirely

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<v Speaker 1>different country, an entirely different city. And of course your

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<v Speaker 1>book Dancing with the Devil in the City of God

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<v Speaker 1>has great anecdotes, and you really you give us. It's

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<v Speaker 1>like I'm reading a novel. You describe describe drug used

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<v Speaker 1>to describe coming back to Rio, coming back to Brazil

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<v Speaker 1>you're from there, what that was like and over the years.

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<v Speaker 1>But what is the mood now in Rio? What are

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<v Speaker 1>people in the streets saying that they have some pride

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<v Speaker 1>that they're on the global stage and I mean there

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<v Speaker 1>have been some staff foods, but it looks pretty darn good.

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<v Speaker 1>Or are they angry that so much money was spent?

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<v Speaker 1>I think it's it's a strange balance of both. There's

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<v Speaker 1>some tension in the air, for sure. I mean, some

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<v Speaker 1>of these big protests that we saw before the World Cup,

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<v Speaker 1>you know back in two thousand two fourteen, the questions

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<v Speaker 1>that fuel goes are still there. You know, is this

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<v Speaker 1>the right way to spend our money? Are these the

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<v Speaker 1>right priorities for our our government? But at the same time,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, once the game started here in Rio, much

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<v Speaker 1>again has happened during the World Cup, which I was

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<v Speaker 1>here for. You know, once the ball starts rolling and

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<v Speaker 1>the medals start coming in, you know, those beautiful stories

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<v Speaker 1>of the athletes. Um, you know, people Brazilian seeing Rio

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<v Speaker 1>on international TV and knowing that it looks good. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>there is an enthusiasm that that that percolates up. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>there there is a sense of local pride. But I

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<v Speaker 1>don't think that people forget for a minute that this

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<v Speaker 1>is a very expensive party and that we're going to

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<v Speaker 1>have to pay for it once it's all over. Does

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<v Speaker 1>anyone believe that the total bill for the Rio Olympics

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<v Speaker 1>will be about four billion dollars or is that just

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<v Speaker 1>an estimate? I don't think so. I mean, that's the

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<v Speaker 1>official estimate just for the sporting venues for point six

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<v Speaker 1>billion um. The official estimate that I've heard for for

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<v Speaker 1>total infrastructure plus sporting venues is about twelve billion. But

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<v Speaker 1>there are experts who study the Olympics and the cost

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<v Speaker 1>of the mega events that has put the total at

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<v Speaker 1>nearly twenty billion, which, as you can imagine, for for

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<v Speaker 1>Brazil and for Rio right now, is astronomical. The title

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<v Speaker 1>dancing with the Devil in the City of God, where

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<v Speaker 1>does that come from? It was the sense that Brazil

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<v Speaker 1>in the IOC, really, if you think about it, we're

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<v Speaker 1>engaging in sort of a Fosterian bargain. Both of them

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<v Speaker 1>were taking a little bit of a leap, uh, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>since taking a dance with the devil in a way

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<v Speaker 1>selling your soul to see if you can grasp at

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<v Speaker 1>something bigg or something better. Um, you know, from from

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<v Speaker 1>Rio's perspective, grasping this idea that it's now a world

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<v Speaker 1>capital and it can host the biggest sporting event on

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<v Speaker 1>the planet. And from the IOC's perspective, they were you know,

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<v Speaker 1>they have been selling this idea that the Olympics are

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<v Speaker 1>not just a warding event, they're also, uh, this catalyst

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<v Speaker 1>for tremendous urban transformation and Rio was supposed to be

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<v Speaker 1>a shining example of that. When Rio bid for the Games,

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<v Speaker 1>It's bid was by far the most expensive, and it

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<v Speaker 1>was competing with far well fair places like Tokyo, Chicago, Madrid.

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<v Speaker 1>And part of what made it so expensive is that

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<v Speaker 1>it promised so much uh infrastructural urban change. And I'll

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<v Speaker 1>see one of the sort of attached brand to that,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, a remade Rio, and as you can see,

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<v Speaker 1>things that can work out for either one of them

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<v Speaker 1>so well. So it was a dance with the devil

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<v Speaker 1>that platility pay off now because of Rio's extensive port facilities,

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of their products, whether it's Crewe petroleum, semi

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<v Speaker 1>finished iron products, or steel products, it's all commodity driven.

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<v Speaker 1>Will Rio's fortune continue to be tied to commodity prices.

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<v Speaker 1>I think so, and I think this is one of

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<v Speaker 1>the unfortunate aspect of these last few years, not just

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<v Speaker 1>for real but for Brazil. A lot of expectations. We

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<v Speaker 1>were tied to that moment of economic success that Brazil experience,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, two thousand seven, two thousand eight, two thousand nine,

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<v Speaker 1>the lead up into these games, and uh, unfortunately Brazil

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<v Speaker 1>didn't use that time to really take the difficult reforms

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<v Speaker 1>that it needed to and and it's tax code and

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<v Speaker 1>other sort of unsexy aspects of the Joiana Barbosa. We're

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<v Speaker 1>going to leave it there. Thank you so very much

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<v Speaker 1>for joining us today. She's the author of Dancing with

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<v Speaker 1>the Devil in the City of god Rio de Janeiro

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<v Speaker 1>and the Olympic Dream. Thank you for joining us. This

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<v Speaker 1>is Loomberg coming up. Bloomberg Law is brought to by

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