Big trouble in Ipanema

People who’ve never been to Rio often have quite extreme notions of what life here must be like. Some assume it’s a never-ending beach holiday, others think we are constantly ducking bullets and running from armed thieves. The reality for most is more prosaic – bad traffic on the way to the office, work 10am-7pm, bad traffic on the way home. No beaches, no samba, no guns and no fatalities.

Of course that’s not to say that good and bad things don’t happen here. Yesterday on Ipanema beach something quite shocking occurred. As is often the case, there are various versions of exactly what happened, but it seems to go something like this: A large group of Guardas Municipais (Municipal Guards) moved onto the beach. Some reports say that they were there to remove a pitbull dog that had been brought onto the beach – other reports say that they were there to stop a group of kids playing Altinha (in England we call this keepy-uppy) which apparently is not permitted on the beach before 5pm.

briga entre banhistas e guardas municipais

Beach mayhem. source

 

Whatever the exact reason for their presence, the atmosphere quickly turned sour.

The guards were smashing people with their batons and a large group of the people on the beach were throwing beach umbrellas, chairs and coconuts:

 

 

Shocking scenes. The guards say they were simply defending themselves from aggression, while many beach-goers reported that the guards started smashing people randomly.

Regardless of which is true (a little of both I suspect), it doesn’t take a genius to predict that if you send a large force of guards, equipped with enormous batons, onto a busy beach then something like this may result. But while I wonder at the tactical wisdom of sending so many guards onto the beach in the first place, I think it’s worth bearing in mind that these guards generally don’t receive a great deal of training and are woefully underpaid. While that doesn’t excuse poor policing, it does suggest that the real fault lies not with the guards themselves, but with the government, who need to take another look at their crime prevention tactics. Perhaps more funding/training for the Guardas Municipais?

One thing I’d like to say about this is that it isn’t normal! I’ve never seen anything like this during my time in Rio.

Back in August 2011 I took Mrs EatRio back to London for the first time and a few days after we arrived a huge series of riots ensued. It was so strange to come home for the first time in 2 years and see so much violence and destruction. And it was a terrible first impression for my wife. I kept saying “Honestly, this kind of thing never happens! I’m at least as freaked out by this as you are!”.

So Rio, I feel your pain. Bad things happen sometimes (and yesterday’s incident was nothing compared to the riots in London).

People seem to be making a lot of the fact that this happened just two days after the re-election of Eduardo Paes as Mayor of Rio – presumably they hold him responsible for the underfunding of the Guardas Municipais which seems reasonable seeing as he’s be in power since 2008. Will this turn out to be an aberration? Or does it reflect something more significant? I have no idea, but I’m hoping for the former.

==================

As a side note, I think one of the saddest aspects to this episode is the reaction of many people from other parts of the country. Reading the comments below this Globo article, it seems that many people are using this to reinforce the stereotype that Cariocas are lazy, law breakers. One ridiculous example:

Cariocas don’t follow any type of law, [they] think they are kings of the world and love confusion and chaos… that state [Rio de Janeiro] should be banished from the country.

I find it strange that the people of a single state are the target of so much vicious vitriol from their own countrymen and women.

 

27 replies
  1. Ana Fonseca
    Ana Fonseca says:

    Foi um bahista arrogante que começou tudo, segundo O Globo: A assessoria de imprensa da Guarda Municipal afirmou que agentes abordaram um grupo que jogava altinho na beira d’água — o que não é permitido na praia das 8h às 17h — quando um homem apareceu e começou a xingar os guardas. O banhista já teria sido abordado, no último dia 3, por estar com um cachorro na praia, o que também não é permitido. De acordo com o órgão, na época, ele teria dito que era filho de um juiz e ameaçado a causar nova confusão.

    A Guarda relatou ainda que, na última sexta-feira, o mesmo homem teria desafiado os agentes e, por isso, sofrido uma nova abordagem, mas não houve confusão. Já nesta terça, diante dos xingamentos feitos pelo banhista, os guardas teriam pedido reforço e dado voz de prisão ao homem, não identificado, por ameaça e desacato.

    http://oglobo.globo.com/rio/guardas-municipais-entram-em-confronto-com-banhistas-na-praia-de-ipanema-6351810#ixzz28uaek01B

    Reply
    • tomlemes
      tomlemes says:

      Oi, Ana! Obrigado pelo link. Parece que não foi uma situação fácil para os guardas, mas também parece que eles não lidaram com ela muito bem. Para ser justo, é fácil criticar depois de um incidente – posso acreditar que eles não quiseram problemas.

      Reply
  2. Sthephani
    Sthephani says:

    Hey, Tom.

    Great to read about this episode at a balanced text like yours – like you, I have been hearing a lot of barbarities about it since yeasterday, from “both sides”.

    I have just something more to add on the comments people make about the cariocas: they are jealous of the fact that going to the beach on a Tusday afternoon is quite normal. lol

    (of course I am kidding before anyone says something – even because just a small minority of cariocas can do it, though people think it is like this)

    Reply
    • tomlemes
      tomlemes says:

      Hey Sthephani! Wow, you are brave even making a joke like that! ;)

      I was quite scared to write this post because some Brazilians have such strong feelings about these subjects and if they don’t agree with you then they can be quite aggressive. But I do try to be fair and balanced. You can easily imagine how something like this might have started – to take one side or the other completely (i.e. 100% blame the Guardas or the banhistas) seems naive to me. Of course the Guarda will say they did nothing wrong and of course many beach-goers will say the same. The truth usually lies somewhere in between right?

      Reply
  3. Ray
    Ray says:

    Tom,

    I am glad you learned your lesson, no talking crap about our mango/cream cheese filled Sushi!!! Or else, we will come out of the shadows and scratch your eyes right out!! ;)

    Ray

    Reply
  4. The Gritty Poet
    The Gritty Poet says:

    “I find it strange that the people of a single state are the target of so much vicious vitriol from their own countrymen and women.”

    I don’t know: Rio is pretty messy and seems to actually appreciate the whole laid back anything goes reputation which ensues from said attitude. I am willing to bet that certain cities in the Northeast – the larger ones – may be as unorganized but you’d expect Rio to be better than that. After all Rio has a much larger and long lasting middle class, plus greater funding; yet Rio citizens appear to be great sayers and poor doers when it comes to organizing and getting concrete things done (it is easy to forward petitions via internet; but that usually won’t accomplish much).
    If people want the Guarda Municipais to do a better job then find out how they are trained (hello retired or active security specialists) to then suggest how they can improve job performance. And understand this is a task that will take years, so keep with it.
    The thing is you never see an online petition which complains, *and* puts forth a long term agenda to tackle the problem: usually the latter is just forgotten. So the whole affair that caused the commotion unfolds by people moving from beach to bar while exclaiming “o governo deveria bla bla bla” to then order beers, and forget the topic altogether in 5 minutes (only to recall it next time something similar occurs, and then the pattern repeats itself once again – for the zillionth time . . . ).
    I find that in Southern cities neighborhood associations and local business often get together and help the police. Is this so hard to do?

    Reply
    • Alex
      Alex says:

      Interesting observations!

      I always, always get the feeling that the Northeast is a chaotic place in this sense. Except for Fortaleza, which looks like a rich city for Northeast standards. Anyway, we already all know that the south is perfect. :)

      Reply
      • The Gritty Poet
        The Gritty Poet says:

        Alex,

        Actually – regarding the Northeast – I always imagined the opposite to be the case: Fortaleza, Salvador, Recife, and now Maceio as the bigger and hence more chaotic Northeastern capitals; while João Pessoa, Natal and Aracaju would be those smaller and more peaceful towns.
        I would be interested, and perhaps this would be useful to you, in finding out about smaller cities in the Northeastern countryside. The two linked below seem promising:
        http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campina_Grande
        http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu%C3%ADs_Eduardo_Magalh%C3%A3es_(Bahia)
        Since their cycle of development is fairly recent I wonder if Big Prairie and LEM City were able to avoid some of the mistakes carried out in larger cities.

        Btw the video displayed in this post reminds me of what happened in Gritty City – located in the South obviously – when a bunch of foreigners were caught using flip-flops outside flip-flop designated areas: pool, beach, carwash. :-)

        Reply
  5. Ray
    Ray says:

    Ok, Tom, in all seriousness, from a Brazilian perspective:
    There is a HUGE class/racial thing going on in Brazil with Police and the middle class, principally in Rio.
    Sao Paulo there is less racial tension, because our cops are white, but there is the class thing too.
    They (policemen) are usually poor and black in Rio, and we (the middle class) white and enjoying the nice life in Brazil, that they can’t because they are poor and have to work.
    So, when an arrogant middle class (son of a judge prick) gives them the chance, they will over compensate their anger and give a good beating on the poor (rich) bastard.
    In my opinion, both are wrong, police has to be professional, and not act on emotion or racial hate, and the judge’s son should just follow the law like everyone else.
    My 2 cents…

    Ray

    Reply
    • tomlemes
      tomlemes says:

      Nicely said Ray. It sounds like both ‘sides’ in this situation acted badly. I guess the thing that sticks with me though is that part of the police’s job is to deal with idiots. You get idiots all over the world and if the police lost control every time someone said something rude or insulting, there’d be chaos.

      Having said that, I have had my fair share of unpleasant experiences with over-privileged, arrogant 20-something guys who think they own the world. It must be tough to take shit from them when you work your ass off all day to earn money that these kids spend on a t-shirt.

      Reply
    • HP
      HP says:

      You can see signs of that class tension in the video, when someone from the crowd yells at the guards something like “you`re all fudidos (a derogative slang that roughly means “poor person”), it is us who pay your bills”.

      In Brazil it is common to see a street argument going into class, career or even racial prejudice. Someone argues with a bus driver and says “that`s why you`ll always be a fudido” or “that`s why you`ll always be a driver”

      Some years ago near the holidays a newscast from Band TV Channel was showing common people wishing viewers a merry christmas and stuff like that. Among them, two waste collectors. Anchorman Boris Casoy, unaware that his mic was still on, let slip on air in a condescending tone: “Wishes from two garbage men, the lowest on the work scale. Are you shitting me?”

      Reply
      • tomlemes
        tomlemes says:

        Hi HP,

        I ‘remember’ that incident with Boris Casoy – not that I was actually here then, but I covered it in a post about the Garis, here. What a disgusting attitude that man displayed.

        Seems that class can be quite a tricky issue for outsiders. Back in the UK, foreigners are routinely baffled by the British class system which is often counter-intuitive. I was also surprised to learn that here in Brazil, even an innocent question like “where do you live?” can raise class tensions. My wife tells me that she once asked a new acquaintance where she lived and the reply went something like “Why do you want to know? You want to feel superior to me because you live in Gávea?”.

        Reply
        • HP
          HP says:

          LOL, oversensitive a little, are we? Sure the guy was not joking?

          But I guess some places are kind of stigmatized… Which causes low self esteem issues for those who live in them. Places like the favelas or neighbourhoods like Penha, Rocha, Engenho Novo… If I recall correctly, people called that part of Avenida Brasil near Manguinhos and Complexo da Maré as “The Gaza Strip”.

          Reply
        • The Gritty Poet
          The Gritty Poet says:

          Tom,
          I don´t think I´d ask a person where they live: it may really raise class issues so better to avoid such behavior (I just abhore classism). Anyway, in an unrelated topic: what is your bus route? :-)

          Reply
  6. Danielle
    Danielle says:

    In the same way that we can’t judge a country by one bad event, we also can’t judge its citizens as a whole by some people’s YouTube comments or internet comments in general. Comment options on popular websites bring out the crazies!!! (Do you think I count, as a commenter on your blog? hehehe)

    Reply
    • tomlemes
      tomlemes says:

      Ha ha! YES Danielle – you’re a crazy too! ;) I know what you’re saying about Youtube/Globo comments. Most normal people read the article and move on – a disproportionate number of people with ridiculous/extreme views feel the need to share (definitely not talking about you anymore!). Maybe I need to go on a tour around the country to find out whether this anti-Carioca feeling genuinely exists beyond the people who post comments on websites… (nice excuse for a holiday!)

      Reply
  7. Andrew Francis
    Andrew Francis says:

    To add to the mess, there’s a big debate whether Guardas Municipais should even be on the beach at all. For better or for worse, public policing is the jurisdiction of the state and federal governments (who control the civil, military and federal police). Technically, the GCM should only guard municipal buildings and property.

    But like you say, ultimately, it’s a lack of proper training, funding, policies and procedures.

    Reply
  8. Chris
    Chris says:

    But this happens mostly in Brazil, since law are just suggestions of order. This is how the upper/middle class act when the law is enforced in their playgroung, It’s okay to do all kind of drugs in zona sul, but the swat police must raid the favela, arrest all drug dealers. brazillians often criticize their goverment , and they should , but it ends right there, at the bar, after a very cold beer, I should say, everything falls into place. If Brazil wants to be taken seriously, the beach, the city, the county need to be civilized to be able to change society as a whole. But if the law continues to apply to certain citizens only, years from now it will still remain a third world country.

    Reply
    • tomlemes
      tomlemes says:

      Hi Chris, I take your point about the rule of law – it needs to apply to everyone. But I don’t think what you’re saying applies specifically to Brazilians. I think it’s a universal fact – everyone thinks laws are great until they find that one of them applies to them (speeding fine, parking ticket, no ball games, etc). Suddenly their rights are being infringed.

      I guess the difference is that Brazil is one of the many countries where if get caught then you can often pay your way out of trouble (though not all police will take bribes – remember the arrest of Nem da Rocinha and the policeman who turned down R$20k?).

      So the solution is what? Just to say rich Brazilians are bad people? You think we need to change the attitudes of the rich? Nice idea, but isn’t that a bit like saying you should change human nature? People cheat if they can get away with it – that’s the way people are.

      I think the answer lies in better pay for policemen. If some rich arrogant motorist is stopped for speeding and offers the policeman R$100, perhaps the cop wouldn’t be tempted if he/she was being paid a decent salary.

      Reply
  9. BrazilianSoul
    BrazilianSoul says:

    this post is a VERY good opportunity to say that infamous catchphrase that is constantly repeated by 11 in every 10 cariocas: “Now imagine what is going to happen during the WorldCup and Olympic Games!” LOL

    But seriously now, if those guards were wearing Scotland Yard uniforms NO ONE would mess with them…

    Reply
  10. Mark
    Mark says:

    I have never posted on a blog anywhere, but I thought this news was appropriate and relevant to this event (the fight between the Guardas Municipais and beachgoers at Posto 9):
    http://oglobo.globo.com/rio/areia-de-trechos-das-praias-de-copacabana-leblon-reprovada-pela-prefeitura-6520986

    It might seen unrelated, but I think this is really telling of the kind of behavior beachgoers have in Rio, and how much they really care about their own beach and communal/public property in general.

    PS: I am Carioca and am ashamed of how beachgoers today completely trash the beach and disregard all rules and regulations.

    Reply
    • tomlemes
      tomlemes says:

      Hi Mark,

      First of all, thanks for posting! I feel honoured that is your first ever comment! :)

      I have recently noticed an increase in dogs on the beach over the last year. Sad to see people breaking the rules and making the beach shitty (literally) for everyone else.

      I know this next comment will probably make me very unpopular, but I would support a complete ban on having dogs in cities. I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s a great life for many of the dogs who are kept in a small apartment all day, and I am sick of all the poos that I have to dodge every day as I walk around the city. It’s really disgusting and more than anything shows a complete lack of consideration for the other people who live in the city.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *