Rio to demolish favela for Olympics
A favela in Rio, Brazil.
A Brazilian favela is being forced to make way for the Olympics.
Vila Autodromo, a favela situated in the heart of Olympic Park, will be removed to make room for construction. The residents will be relocated one kilometer away.
The favela has become a symbol of the fight against the forced relocation of thousands of Brazilians to allow the development for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, reports the Rio Times.
The community has been threatened several times with destruction, but so far has survived. In one instance, bulldozers were ready to start tearing down homes, until the media was alerted and the bulldozers left, reported the Rio Times.
China relocated an estimated 1.5 million people to make room for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The Rio relocation is nowhere close to that scale.