With just one month to go before the Olympics, the Mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes (PMDB), increased his barrage of criticism aimed at the State government of Rio de Janeiro.

He told the North American TV network CNN that the administration had done a "terrible" job of organising the security for the games.

"There's going to be the National Security Forces, the Army, the Navy. All of them will be there. I think that they have also done a bad job of sorting Olympic security, both in the run up to and the wake of the event. Good thing they're not responsible for the security during the games," he said.

This is the second time in three days that the Mayor has spoken out against the state government.

Paes said that the state authorities should "face up to their shortcomings", "roll up their sleeves" and stop with their "whining".

Paes' aim is to prevent the state government of Rio from going back on its promises and leaving goals established for the games unfulfilled.

At the summit for the State Secretary for Security Paes' declarations were considered "irresponsible."

The main concern was that they would provide fuel for a group of politicians who have been protesting against Brazil's precarious situation and suggesting now is not the time to be spending on sporting events.

Civil policemen protested last week at the Galeão international airport in Rio, flooding into arrivals with placards that read "Welcome to Hell".

After the interview was made public, Paes tried to tone down his criticisms. He said he had "confidence in the Security Secretary [José Mariano] Beltrame and in the governor [Francisco] Dornelles."

Paes also accused the state of not fulfilling the environmental goals that were laid out in the Dossier of Candidature, such as the cleaning up of the bay of Guanabara.

Translated by GILLIAN SOPHIE HARRIS

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