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Rio De Janeiro Is Getting An Almost $1 Billion Bailout So The Olympics Don’t Fail

Photo: REUTERS/Nacho Doce

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JP Carroll National Security & Foreign Affairs Reporter
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The Brazilian federal government approved bailing out Rio de Janeiro state Tuesday to the tune of $849 million to make sure the Olympics run smoothly.

Interim Brazilian President Michel Temer approved a rescue package for the flailing host state of the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in August. The major cash injection comes as a result of Rio de Janeiro state’s acting governor, Francisco Dornelles, declaring June 17 that his state needed federal assistance to get out of a massive financial hole.

Even though the city of Rio de Janeiro is technically hosting the Olympic Games, Rio de Janeiro State is on the hook for some specific and major expenses. One of the priciest projects Rio de Janeiro must successfully finish before the Olympics is the construction of an extension to the metro system.

Petty political infighting between city government officials and their state government counterparts has not helped efficiently resolve the financial calamity.

“It’s not true that Rio is broken,” the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes said, according to USA Today. Paes clarified the city of Rio de Janeiro has a very different financial situation than the state and that ultimately, “We want to make sure it’s clear for the Brazilian press and the international press that it’s not because of the Olympics that Rio is in this situation.”

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