Rio's Ecobarrier Called "Apartheid"

In the fabulously beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro, authorities have long struggled to protect tourists and some of the country’s most wealthy and opulent people from the most dangerous and impoverished slums.

The state government is now surrounding the Dona Marta shantytown, or favela, with a concrete wall, and the governor of Rio, Sergio Cabral Filho, plans to build nine miles of walls around the favelas.

Authorities say it’s an eco-barrier to prevent the favelas from expanding across the city’s heavily forested hillsides. But human rights activists and environmentalists suspect a darker purpose. They argue that the barrier is a form of “social apartheid” and compare it to Israel’s security barrier.

Brazil is second only to Burkina Faso in disparities of wealth in the world. The richest 10 percent of the population control more than 50 percent of the wealth, while the poorest 10 percent control less than one percent.

Antonio Regalado is Brazil correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. He visited the site in May after construction began, and joins us from New York.

The Wall Street Journal: Walls Around Rio's Slums Protect Trees But Don't Inspire Much Hugging

(Photo by Armando Lobos via Flickr/Creative Commons)