It's really almost a completely lawless country.
That sums up most of Latin America.
Even East St Louis?
"I dont recall going to NYC and seeing people roving through traffic robbing people with machineguns, lots of guys with squeegees and rags tho. "
must've been a while since you were in NYC - haven't seen the squeegee guys on the streets in quite a while now, they were everywhere a decade or so back.
They're getting the world Cup in 2014 which is no doubt with the Olympics the biggest sporting event on the planet. How do you think they will cope? FIFA must feel they will be able to handle the crime to award it to them. Not going to look good if football fans are caught up in acts of violence.
The 2010 World Cup is in South Africa so will wait to see what that brings.
Can't imagine many many football hooligans causing trouble in those two countries!
The thugs are ruthless
They will drag you out of your car and armbar both sides so you can't even tap !
Damn. Now I'm NEVER goin'!
Let me give you all some insight...I am a dual national, I was born in Brazil, but my father is American..I was braught up half in the states, half here in Brazil, where I currently live. The big citys in Brazil can be very hairy for the average American, but than, many other citys in the world are the same. It is very true that there are some very violent areas in Rio or Sao Paulo, but if you are smart anough to avoid them, your fine. If you go to the interior and the smaller towns in Brazil, than most probably you will have no problem whatsoever...personaly, I like living here better, peolple are freindly, they comunicate, and its a very beautifull country. Most of the negative stuff, allthough very true, also gets blown up for the simple reason that it sells. Truth is, you go to any place in the world, unprepaird, and chances are, you will get into some sort of trouble.
If I were to go to Brazil, I'd really want to go with someone who has lived/lives there and knows the ropes.
Great post, AJDavis.
Kostakio, just to got South Beach in FL. There you will get stabbed, beat up, pick pockted, arrested, drunk, pick up hot Brazilian women, play soccer with local Brazilians, there's a ton of BJJ schools (taught by Brazilians) and its in the good ole U.S of A.
You had me at 'Brazilian women'!
Stick to America & Canada if you want to keep your buttyhole to yerself.
That image comes from a movie thats a few years old, its of a civilian police operation in a favela, you can tell by thereshooting that the police in thatclip are very unprepaired, today it is a little diferent , "The City of God" and the recent "Tropa de Elite" potray, an unfortunatly very real side of Rio. Its almost like two diferent countrys in one. In the middle class parts of Rio, there are police on the streets, shopping malls, restraunts, everything you see in any other city in the world....in the favelas, its a diferent case, diferent culture, diferent rules, and the goverment are the Drug lords...they rule, and hide among the civilian population. Unfornatly, there exists a constant state of urban war, between the diferent factions of Drug lords themselves, and the regular state goverment. Most probably more peolpe are killed in Rio and Sao Paulo per month, than in Iraque. But this is very local, contained for the most part in the favelas, and the peolpe killed, for the most part, are involved in this war, allthough civililans uninvolved sometimes get cought up in the middle
i've never been but i know pleanty who have and here are a few of their stories: one was told not to go home alone and tried taking a taxi, the taxi took a turn down an alley way where some men were waiting and they beat him up and robbed him. another was told the same thing at an event he was attending he thought he would be fine because the hotel was only a few blocks away.. two men chased him with some machete's (or some other big knives) anyways some cars spooked the would be thieves and he was able to get away. of course both of these accounts took place at night. also the night clubs are supposedly full of hookers. like i said i've never been there but i have good friends who have. also they say the police don't even go into the slums!
Macheties!!LOL ....crimanls here carry ak47s, Glocks and Uzis!!
^^ granted this guy was there in 70s or 80s.. the other story was more recent though and one my good friends was there over summer
Hookers usualy take care of turists, protect them....and the gun touting guys I am talking about, are up in the favelas, but as in any other place, Miami, NY, or La, you must be carefull
^ yeah my buddy was getting annoyed with them because he thought he was gonna get lucky with every girl he talked to or danced with then they would quote him a price hahaha
Let me give you a little insight....
I have lived in South America for three years now. I live in a little unstable country called Ecuador.
In those three years, five people I knew well have been robbed and killed. Two were grabbed at banks after withdrawing more then 500 dollars. The tellers will call the crooks to tell which person to rob.
The three others were at intersections, (three different incidents) some people just got out of the truck ahead of them. Walked up to the car and shot everyone in the car and took their wallets. (One of my BG's was on his lunch hour two cars back and managed to tag one perp during a murder/robbery.)
Saying that it's safe if your smart is a rather dumb thing to say. The roads alone here claim thousands of people a year. Since most folks barely drive on the proper side of the road, there is no real speed limit ect.
If your stopped late at night by the police, ten bucks and your on your way again. The cops just want money to keep drinking the rest of the night.
Ecuador is a small Latin country of 13 million people and this is the way things are done. From my travels to other countries down here it doesn't get better with a larger population.
If your coming down here play safe, stay away from public transit. Trust No One, is the best advice I have ever gotten while living down here.
Just one ex-pats opinion.
i was there about a dozen times over the past 6 or 7 yrs...like any other place,if you look for trouble,you'll definitely find it...but,as everyone else has said,if you pay attention and be careful,you'll have a great time and probably not get killed ar robbed...a lot of the trouble happens in the favelas,or nearby them,so if you stick to the main areas you'll be fine...otherwise,the food is great,the women are hot,the beaches are incredible and the almighty american dollar still goes a long way....