A slum or Favela outside of Rio
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Poverty is a very big issue in Rio de Janeiro. Over 3 million people live in the slums of the city. Among the entire population, the richest 10% have 40% of the wealth. The poorest 10% have 1% of the wealth.
Crime is another problem in Rio de Janeiro. Most of the crime involves mugging and drug trafficing. The police force in most of Brazil, including Rio, is corrupt or just doesn't care. So the Ministry of Justice created the National Public Security Force to respond to the major crime. Brazil has free education at all levels up to 12th grade. Despite this, many children from poorer families do not attend school, but instead are forced to work in a desperate attempt to bring home a paycheck. This means kids as young as 10 years old are working to help pay for their families. This is a huge problem, despite it being illegal to hire people under 16 years old. Many children who do go to school do not do well in school because of malnutrition. With its large population, schools have three daily shifts of classes. There is adult education and several universities, including the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the Rio de Janeiro State University. Rio has significant urban problems. It’s population grows every year by about 2.5%, with about 42% of that growth coming from outside the city. It has many (over 750) slums, all of which suffer from urban traffic problems, and unequal income distribution. There are extremely poor people and very wealthy people. The government has not been interested in the necessary social investments to address these problems. It is obvious to almost everyone that Rio's poverty problem needs to be addressed. Solutions need to be found so that homes in slums are safe and have clean running water and toilets. Poor children need to be allowed to finish school rather than being forced to work. Ant the crime problem needs to be solved. |