Violence Makes 7 in Every 10 Residents Want to Leave Rio de Janeiro

10/09/2017 - 11h02

A Datafolha survey shows that the current wave of violence in Rio de Janeiro has made a major part of its population want to leave the city.

Seventy-two percent of the city's residents say that, if they could, they would leave for that reason. This is the opinion of most people in all of the city's regions and socioeconomic strata surveyed in the study, which interviewed 812 people.

The survey was carried out ten days after the fight between gangs in Rocinha slum, which closed streets and roads, terrified residents of the city and led the Armed Forces to act in the slum.

Data show that in recent weeks one third of the residents changed their routines and witnessed at least one gun shot. Also 24% said they had a friend or relative killed or injured by gun shots in the same period.

The insecurity and the financial crisis in Rio, which made the number of police officers in slums fall, have contributed to the bad evaluation of the Luiz Fernando Pezão (PMDB) administration in the area - 74% of those interviewed said it is bad or very bad.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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	Eduardo Anizelli/Folhapress
	Military troops patrol the Rocinha slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil