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 With 100 days to go before the Olympic Games begin in Rio de
Janeiro, the nation famous for doing things at the last minute faces
a novel situation: The venues are ready, but the host does not
appear to be.
With the country's president fighting impeachment and the economy on
track for its worst recession in more than a century, Brazilians are
both angry and distracted.
"People are paying no attention" to the Olympics, said longtime Rio
resident Julia Michaels, who chronicles the city through her Rio
Real blog. "No one is talking about it at all because there are so
many other things to talk about."
When Rio de Janeiro won the right to host the Games in 2009, Brazil
was the darling of the developing world. Its economy had grown
briskly for most of the decade, 30 million people had been lifted
from poverty and the nation was assuming a prominent role in world
affairs.
Since then, a collapse in commodities prices has dragged down the
economy, and President Dilma Rousseff faces the prospect of being
suspended from office next month on charges of budgetary fraud.
 The twin meltdowns in politics and the economy have consumed Brazil,
and the Olympics have all but disappeared from the front pages and
TV news. In a nation where soccer has long been the sport that
matters, politics is the only game in town.
"Brazil is going through a political crisis, and the situation has
still to sort itself out," said Agatha Bednarczuk, one of the beach
volleyball players who will represent her homeland.
"I think we just need to resolve the politics, and then people's
attention will turn to sport."
ALMOST READY
The venues are complete except for the velodrome, which will not be
ready in time for an official test event, and the athletics stadium,
where the running track is being laid. Officials say both will be
finished well before the Games begin on Aug. 5.
Some 36 test events have taken place at arenas and stadiums as well
as on the area's beaches and mountains.
But the deep recession has prompted last-minute cutbacks. Organizers
withdrew plans for temporary seating at some venues, reduced the
number of volunteers and briefly considered scrapping plans to
provide athletes' rooms with air-conditioning.
The International Olympic Committee visited the city this month and
expressed satisfaction with progress so far, albeit with the caveat
that "thousands" of small details had to be finalized. CHALLENGES
The other big issues concern Rio itself.
A planned cleanup of the bay where the sailing and open water
swimming events will take place did not happen. Although officials
say the race lanes will be pristine, the Olympics will not produce
the promised legacy of clear waters.
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An outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been linked
to birth defects in hundreds of children in northern Brazil, has
caused widespread panic and prompted some fans and even some
athletes to consider skipping the Games.
Questions remain about whether the new metro line leading from the
populous South Side of Rio to the Olympic Park area will be ready in
time. The line has yet to be completed and will start operations
without prolonged tests, if any at all.
Crime remains a major concern. Drug traffickers have again taken
over slums that community police had pacified ahead of the 2014
World Cup, and shootings have become more common, blogger Michaels
said.
In the first three months of this year, 432 people were murdered in
the city, according to government statistics.
The deaths of two people on a new seafront cycle lane that was
touted as part of the Olympics legacy have shaken residents. The
lane collapsed when a strong wave swept up the sea wall on Thursday.
Such stories may be partly responsible for slow demand for tickets,
with only 62 percent sold so far, according to Phil Wilkinson,
spokesman for Rio 2016 organizing committee.
Visa Inc said on Tuesday that it expects 400,000 to 500,000
international travelers to visit Rio for the games, less than the
590,000 tourists who attended the last summer Olympics in London in
2012.
In true Brazilian style, though, officials say they expect the Games
to turn out fine.
"When the athletes arrive and sport begins, the country will get
behind it, and we will see an excitable and passionate audience
engage with the Games," Wilkinson said.
"We are confident that, 100 days out, we are in a good position."
(Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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