Economics With A Face

Todd also struck up a conversation with a 23 year-old guy from Rio who was filming the trip to sell afterwards. They started to talk about graffiti in the city, which is some of the best I’ve ever seen. He said that in the favelas it was even better (Favelas are shantytowns that have been built up all over the mountainsides overlooking the city. They are controlled by drug lords and have been the subject of movies like City of God).

We have been thinking about going on a tour of a favela tomorrow before we leave so it was interesting to get his take on life there. Earlier this year he had lived in one of the city’s 700+ favelas (he pointed it out to us at one point as we drove past), but ended up moving out mainly do to the constant harassment he would receive from police when he would leave heading to work who wrongly assume that everyone is a criminal. He called the tours “safaris of misery,” but I’m actually interested in looking at them for the exact opposite reason. A book I read a few years ago, A Race to the Top, described how much better many of the residents in the favelas are living after Brazil began to open up its markets to foreign goods like electronics. I’d like to see it for myself.

Tonight, Em and I headed out for dinner alone as Todd was dead tired due to his sunburn and a stomach virus he has been unable to shake. We grabbed a taxi to a restaurant on the other side of town that got a good review in our guidebook, but when we got there it found it was out of business. The driver recommended another restaurant back towards are hotel so we headed there. It actually worked out well as we had a good talk with him on the drive back about politics, the economy, and other subjects. It is amazing how much more Portuguese I can understand now relative to a week ago.

After dinner Em and I headed back. Tomorrow will be our last day in Rio.