Jessica Maliszewski

Rio De Janeiro Summary and Reflection

The first thing to mention is Brazils oil euphoria. Foreign oil companies are cautious of
investing here. Petrobas, the state-controlled oil company, is staggered by debt. The oil is under a
shifting cap of salt. An oil geologist, Wagner Freire, worked at Petrobas for 35 years said,
Government authorities said that reserves of Brazil were 50 billion barrels, 100 billion barrels,
even 240 billion barrels more than Saudi Arabia. Except many wells have been drilled, but
come up dry.
In 2007 discoveries of oil made Petrobas one of the worlds 10 biggest companies. Then
they said that starting out they would have 2 million barrels a day and by the year 202 they
would be receiving 5.3 million barrels a day. Today it is 4.7 million barrels a day. A high ranking
official with an international financial institution said to forget about that data. The official also
mentioned that Brazil has found no new basins since 2008 and faces the prodigious challenge of
developing the pre-salt area at a cost of $237 billion.
Its said that Petrobas cannot handle that. They must be the lead operator and are required
to have a minimum stake of 30% in any new pre-salt fields, which gives the company huge
financial responsibilities and drives away potential foreign partners. In order to control inflation,
the government forces the company to import and sell gas at below market prices. This has cost
the company $20 billion since 2008! They are taking on more debt. Petrobas is putting off
developing other oil fields in the north east (1 billion barrels).
In October 2013 the second biggest oil company in Brazil, OGX, went bankrupt because
wells ran dry. Foster and Petrobas will soon have new platforms in the pre-salt are, which will
increase production in the next year. Also in October, its said that 144 exploratory wells were
drilled and 82% found oil. As well as two big Chinese companies partnered with Petrobas to
develop Brazils Libra field (12 billion barrels of crude oil). The Director of National Petroleum
Agency expected more than 40 companies to participate, but only 11 did. Some of the bigger
companies such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and BP were ones that did not participate.
Favelas are shanty-towns, or slums, in Brazils cities. Rocinha is Brazils biggest favela,
located in Rio De Janeiro, and they are more privileged than other favelas. Amongst the favelas
the poorer people live higher on the hilltops and their houses can only be accessed on foot. Rios
favelas homes are made of brick and cement and a majority of them have running water; 99
percent have electricity. Although, sanitation is a big problem in the favelas. 65 percent of the
people who live in Brazils favelas are middle class, and despite low income, some are far from
being slums.
Twenty seven year old Marcos Rodrigo Neves grew up in Rocinha, and at the time it was
one of the most dangerous neighborhoods. Drug trafficking gangs controlled the streets and
police rarely entered because they were afraid that they would get ambushed in alleys. At 16
Rodrigo became a street artist. He spray painted a round faced clown with red and blue eyes as a
political symbol, saying that the political system turned people into clowns. In his later teens he

began to teach other kids about street art. He became very good at what he did. People outside of
the favela were interested in his work, but would not come to Rocinha to buy it, so he went to
them. That is how he earned his living and is now comfortable.
In November of 2011 about 3,000 police and military people invaded the favela and
arrested major traffickers, disarmed drug gangs, and set up permanent positions on the streets.
The whole thing was a part of the governments pacification project. It was a plan to bring
down violent crimes in the favela. It improved Rios image for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016
Summer Olympics. Rodrigo claims that the aura of fear no longer exists in Rocinha.
The 2010 census pointed out inequalities and claimed that 51 percent of Brazilians
defined themselves as black or brown. According to the Brazilian government blacks earn less
than half as much as white Brazilians. In favelas 60 percent are black, where as in richer areas
only 7 percent are black.
CNNs Chris Cuomo explored Favela Tavares Bastos. While there, residents voiced their
opinion on the Brazilian government, they are not content. A hotel owner said, They havent got
a democracy, what theyve got is a kleptocracy. He also mentioned that favelas are plagued by
corruption since the pacification.
Pollution in the Guanabara Bay in Rio is scary shocking. Its so heavily polluted that
TVs, floating bed frames, and dead animals are found in it. All of these are obstacles to sailors,
whether it be fishing or damaging the boat. Do not swallow the water or I wouldnt swallow
the water, are things often people warn others about. It was mentioned that you are supposed to
drink Coke right after if you end up drinking the water.
The bay looks pretty from a far, but up close you will see brown waves with plastic bags
afloat in them. The promise to clean up the disgusting bay was a part of Rios Olympic bid.
Biologist Mario Moscatelli accuses the government of the pollution problem, because they have
always opted for short-term solutions to attack the problem. The government began to operate
eco-boats and eco-barriers to scoop up the garbage from the water. The whole goal seems
optimistic.
Extremely shocking fact: only 34 percent of Rios sewage is treated, the rest is spilled
raw into the waters. Beaches water quality is assessed weekly by Rios Environmental Institute,
most are unsuitable for swimming. NGO My Rio is organizing a summer of sanitation
involving a series of protests to pressure the government in speeding up the process of cleaning
the bay. The level of fecal matter in the bay is 198 times higher than the legal limit established in
the U.S. The problem most likely will not be solved by 2016.

It was interesting to gain knowledge on the oil reserves in Brazil, especially considering
we will be meeting with representatives from Chevron when we are in Rio. I was a bit nervous
about that, considering I really did not have much knowledge on the topic. Now I can say that I
at least have an idea of what will be happening. The whole thing actually seems pretty
complicated and confusing. I know that there are different way to extract the oil, like wells or
fracking. In Brazil they seem to use wells. Not all of the wells they drill have oil, which make
them useless, but they are already there and in return damage the environment, that much I do
know. I feel like I need to be brief on all of this before we go and speak to the representatives
from Chevron.
Initially I wasnt sure how I felt about the idea of going to see a favela. Although now I
have more insight on what one really is. A favela is a shanty-town, or a slum. Im not positive
which favela we will be visiting, but I assume that it is Rocinha in Rio De Janeiro. Rocinha used
to be a very dangerous area, now the area is cleaned up and I most certainly would not mind
seeing it. I know not all favelas are as privileged as Rocinha. Most of Rocinha has electricity and
running water and the houses are made of brick and cement. There is a sanitation problem
though.
All of the articles on the favelas had people who mentioned how much they loved their
home and how they do not want to leave. I also hope to see Marcos Rodrigos street art when Im
there. I know that I love my home and I do not plan on leaving any time soon, so it will be
fascinating to see other people who feel the same, but in a different setting.
As for the pollution in the Guanabara Bay, I am appalled and disgusted. They better clean
their act up before the Olympics, literally. This shouldnt have been a problem in the first place. I
dont understand how people see tossing 66 percent of their sewage into the water as okay. I
understand that not everyone cares about the environment the way I do, or the way they should
for that matter, but the sight of the garbage just makes Rio, a popular city worldwide, look trashy
(pun not intended). That is probably something that tourists dont do not want to see, and as a
tourist location it would make sense to clean it up.
One of the articles showed a picture of a woman lying in the bay, it made my skin crawl.
In that same article a woman said that she wouldnt even stick her pinky toe in the water. It
blows my mind how water can even get that dirty. Also, the fact that the fecal matter in the bay is
198 times the legal limit in the U.S., that has to just give make a person really think hard about
how gross that water actually is.
In addition, I believe that small projects do help, for small amounts of time. If they really
want to do something about the pollution in the bay they need to implement a long term idea.
Eco-boats and eco-barriers are an interesting way to help clean up the garbage, but that cannot be
the only thing that they are doing.
Im not really sure how drinking Coke after you accidentally drink the water from the bay
is helpful. The water is already in your system. Maybe to get the taste out of your mouth, since I
would say it is safe to assume it doesnt taste good.