Rio de Janeiro Games: an Olympic economic disaster

(Photo: Charlie Riedel – AP)

Judging from the disastrous news surrounding the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the best thing that could happen to Latin American countries — or perhaps to all countries that apply to be hosts of future Olympic Games — is to lose their bids, and save themselves from a monumental waste of money.

The Rio Olympics, the first to be held in South America, may go down in history as an economic fiasco and a public relations embarrassment.

It’s no wonder that 63 percent of Brazilians said the Olympics will do more damage than good to Brazil, according to a recent Datafolha poll. Almost everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.

The Olympics are starting amid Brazil’s worst economic and political crisis in recent memory. The country’s economy is expected to fall by nearly 4 percent this year, and an ongoing political scandal has already resulted in the suspension of former President Dilma Rousseff, and in charges against her predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and several key legislators and corporate leaders.

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