It is not surprising that the inhabitants of Rio speak of the "games of exclusion". The legacy of the 2016 Olympic Games will mean for them a militarized city marked by social exclusion. A week of action by grassroots organisations is intended to highlight the high social costs of the 2016 Olympic Games.
Forced resettlements, military-occupied favelas, environmental sins and construction work full of irregularities, this is the footprint left by the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Recently, for the first time, these consequences have been accurately recorded on a map. The "Comite Popular Rio Copa e Olimpiada" network supported by terre des hommes switzerland published a mapThis shows in which districts forced evictions or military interventions in favelas took place, where environmental damage was caused, and in which construction projects there was illegality and violation of labor rights.
Alternative games of the excluded
But digital documentation alone is not enough. The campaign "Rio 2016, the games of exclusion" (Jogos da exclusao) wants to make the high social costs of the mega-event visible on the streets. The grassroots organisations in Rio are therefore holding an action week with demos, debates, workshops and exhibitions from 2 to 4 August. The final rally on August 5, 2016, will be a colorful and self-organized counterpoint to the pompous opening ceremonies of the Games. The Comite Popular has published a detailed programme of the "Games of Exclusion" on medium.com published.
