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RIO DE JANEIRO: Despite a wealth of investment ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games, Rio de Janeiro officials admit they are falling short in renovating the city's many cultural sites.
Nestled in a forest of skyscrapers in the heart of Rio, baroque churches, colonial homes, worn cobblestone streets and Art Deco buildings testify to a past often swept away in the urban sprawl that has destroyed countless buildings since the 1940s.
With the Olympic Games five years away, Rio is banking on some $17 billion dollars in investment – make that a hefty $24 billion if you include funds earmarked over the next three years for the 2014 World Cup finals.
Carlos Fernando Andrade, from the bureau for cultural preservation, said that given the sheer number of monuments in the city, a lot more investment in heritage projects was required.
“There have been investments... (but) most often we only take care of monuments when it's an emergency,” Andrade told AFP.
Most of the funds are being channeled to infrastructure projects – revamping roads, transportation systems and improving security – some of which are already hampered by serious delays.
For example, a government-backed study found last week that most of the airports being done up or expanded for the World Cup – nine out of 13 – will not be ready on time.
Delays will probably mean more expense and cause funding for less urgent sectors, like preserving culture and heritage, to dry up.
Currently, there is no coordinated plan to renovate dilapidated heritage sites, only a few isolated projects.
According to Rio's undersecretary of cultural heritage, Washington Fajardo, picking the “marvelous city” to host the huge sporting events has actually triggered a “construction boom” that could threaten cultural sites.
“There's a lot of building ahead of the Games in Rio, and some of the construction is disfiguring the landscape,” Fajardo told AFP.
He said there was a “lack of control in new construction” but noted that Mayor Eduardo Paes has just ordered a revision of the process.
City Hall has also vowed to invest “huge sums” of money to refurbish streets, squares and gardens in the wake of Rio's candidacy to be named a UNESCO World Heritage site, added Fajardo.
In 1808, when Rio was capital of Portugal's empire, it hosted the Portuguese court that was fleeing Napoleon's troops. In order to receive King John VI, the city underwent an urban revolution that transformed it into the “most European city in Brazil.”
This rich heritage, enshrined at the National Historical Museum, “is facing severe structural problems,” said student Gleice Mayer who works at the museum that just reopened after a years-long closure.
“There is seepage everywhere, which is unacceptable for such an important site.”
The Institute of Philosophy and Social Sciences is housed in a majestic 18th century building, but its facade is slowly deteriorating and thoroughly sullied by graffiti everywhere.
Its director, Marco Antonio Teixeira, said the rough neighborhood was prey to urban lawlessness hinders conservation efforts.
“There's no police, no lights at night, nothing,” he said. “People steal the small copper gutters. It's tragic.”
