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Brazil to invest in slums to curb gang crime |
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11:17, July 03, 2007 |
The Brazilian government will spend over 1 billion U.S. dollars to improve infrastructure and services in Rio de Janeiro's slums in a bid to free them from the grip of gangs, said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Monday.
Lula has signed an agreement with Rio de Janeiro state government to spend more than 3.5 billion reais (1.7 billion U.S. dollars) on running water, sewage and other facilities in favelas (shanty towns) and other poor areas.
It is estimated that the projects would benefit about 2 million families in Rio de Janeiro state.
"If the state doesn't fulfill its role and does not provide adequate conditions for the people, drug traffickers and organized crime will," Lula said at a meeting with auto workers in Sao Bernardo do Campo, an industrial suburb of Sao Paulo.
Rio is notorious for its high murder rates and other crime, and its slums are hardest hit by rising gang activity.
"We want to compete with organized crime, and we are sure that we will beat it when we manage to bring benefits to the poorest places," said the president.
Source: Xinhua
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