"Although Brazil is currently facing a political crisis with the impeachment of the president and an economic depression, the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games (hereinafter referred to as the 'Rio Olympics') that will open on August 5 will be an amazingly successful Olympic Games, It will also be very spectacular,” International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said at the Lausanne International Sports Congress.

There is a reason why Bach is so encouraging for the Rio Olympics. Just the day before, the Brazilian House of Representatives passed a resolution to impeach President Rousseff. The bill will then be submitted to the Senate for a final vote, so Rousseff had to give up going to Athens, Greece, to participate in the Olympic flame-collecting ceremony. Therefore, this means that when the Rio Olympics opens on August 5, it is still unknown who will be able to sit in the position of the Brazilian president and preside over the opening ceremony.

The president is facing impeachment, an economic recession, the Zika virus is raging, and security problems are serious. The world is paying attention to one question: Are the Rio Olympics still "contracted"?

Only half of the Olympic tickets have been sold

According to local organizing agencies, the Olympic venues are about to be completed, but ticket sales are lower than expected, with only 55% of the tickets sold for the Paralympic Games. The ticket sales rate was only 12%, a record low.

“Brazilians are slow buyers.” Mario, chief spokesman of the Rio Olympic Organizing Committee, said, “We cannot blame the public, they have more important things to worry about now.”

< p> In this regard, the "Washington Post" bluntly stated that the Summer Olympics, which was held in South America for the first time, received full support from the International Olympic Committee and the Brazilian government, but numerous "flaws" were exposed during the preparation process, such as the city of Rio The government has planned a number of urban highways, bus rapid transit and rail transit lines. These include the BRT line from Rio International Airport to the Baja stadium complex, the Olympic bus line, and the rail transit Metro Line 4 connecting the city center to the Olympic Park area. Some of the rapid transit lines have been completed and put into operation, but the construction of the subway lines has not yet been completed due to restrictions on terrain and funding.

It is less than 100 days before the opening of the Rio Olympic Games. The past seven years of preparations have made Carlos Nuzman, chairman of the Rio Olympic Organizing Committee, have a gray hair. His partners have changed frequently in the past seven years. At the end of March, Sports Minister Hilton, who had been in office for more than a year, resigned due to party disputes. Although Leizer, who replaced him, had been in charge of the Brazilian competitive sports department and was no stranger to Olympic preparations.

In this regard, Nuzman said: "Although Brazil is in a difficult period, we will prepare everything for the Rio Olympics. We will not be complacent at the last moment. We will be more confident than ever before. , making the Rio Olympics the greatest Olympics in Olympic history.”

Safety issues worry participating delegations and spectators

Compared with the issue of who will announce the opening of the Olympics. Delegations and audiences from various countries are undoubtedly more concerned about their own safety.

At noon on March 9, a group of masked gangsters armed with guns broke into the employee restaurant of Huawei Brazil Company in Rio, not far from Copacabana Beach, and looted 38 Chinese employees.* ** stole more than 30 mobile phones, as well as laptops, rings, watches and other property. The gangsters also beat some Chinese employees who did not understand the language and were not "cooperative" enough. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

A former Huawei employee in South America told a reporter from China Economic Weekly that the security situation in Brazil cannot be compared with that in China. The security situation even in metropolitan areas has always been worrying. In addition, due to the poor economic situation and turbulent political situation, armed robberies have often occurred recently. Huawei employees have been robbed in their dormitories in Rio and Sao Paulo, and generally do not go out alone.

Many foreign sports teams are also worried that incidents of petty theft will occur during the Olympics. At the recent beach volleyball Rio tournament held at Copacabana Beach, an American athlete was robbed near the venue.

To make matters worse, due to Brazil's economic depression, the Rio de Janeiro state government recently announced that it will cut its security budget by about 30%, and the head of the Brazilian National Police Security Forces has also resigned recently. , all of which cast a shadow over the security of the Rio Olympics.

In addition, drug dealers and gangs that have been entrenched in slums all year round are a chronic disease in Brazilian society and the main source of the country's serious security problems over the years. The Mare favela surrounds Rio's international airport and the Maracan? stadium, where the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies are held. According to Sosa, director of the slum development network, they now rely on the military to maintain law and order, just as 1,000 soldiers were stationed here during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

At present, the Brazilian government and consulates of various countries in Brazil are actively taking measures, hoping to ensure safety through a two-pronged approach. The Brazilian government also announced that in order to ensure the safety of the Rio Olympics, Brazil will launch the largest security linkage plan in history, with a total of 85,000 people from the armed police, army, police and fire departments working together. This total is more than double the security personnel for the 2012 London Olympics.

Can tourism stimulate the Olympic economy?

If all goes well, the summer of 2016 will be a year for Brazil to welcome friends from all walks of life with open arms. Before the Beijing Olympics and the London Olympics, The successful hosting of the event has greatly promoted the development of the local economy.

Brazil's tourism sector is optimistic that despite deep political troubles, organizers and tourism authorities in Rio de Janeiro still believe the Olympics will be a complete success.

The director of the Rio Tourism Bureau said that Rio is expected to receive more than 1 million tourists during the Olympic Games. "We look forward to showing the beauty of this city to everyone who comes to Rio. People are already aware of our plight, but they will still be shocked by the beauty and enthusiasm of Rio."

According to Hotel Brasil According to the league's Rio branch, hotels in the city have been basically booked during the Olympics. Despite the recent frequent bad news, there have been no unsubscriptions yet.

Major domestic travel agencies also launched a number of products during the Rio Olympics from August 5 to 21. "China Economic Weekly" reporters learned from many tourism agencies such as Caesars and Tuniu that the Olympic Games have brought new opportunities for traveling to South America, and the number of inquiries and bookings for Rio Olympic Games viewing tour products has increased significantly.

Tuniu product manager said in an interview that due to the current increase in prices of air tickets, hotels and other resources during the Olympics, the price of Rio Olympic Games viewing tour products has increased by about 5% compared with usual times. He believes that the Rio Olympics will be This will enable Chinese tourists to have a deeper understanding of Brazil and even South America, further promoting tourism to South America.

There is an old saying in Brazil: "Tourists from all over the world work and save money just to come to Brazil to enjoy the sun, beach, and barbecue? And these kinds of enjoyment are all at our doorstep." Maybe. The Rio Olympics held between this series of crises will bring the world together and become a turning point for Brazil.