THE PROBLEMS CONTINUE Brazil fires tourism minister ahead of Rio Olympics

Posted on 06/21/2016 | About Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Rio Olympics has been dealt a double blow just weeks before the world's biggest sporting event kicks off. Brazilian tourism minister Henrique Alves has been forced to step down after being implicated in a wide-ranging corruption scandal.

He was allegedly involved in funnelling billions from state-owned oil company Petrobras into political campaigns.
To compound matters, acting governor of Rio de Janeiro Francisco Dornelles also said the state is facing a 'public calamity' due to the high cost of staging the Games.
"This crisis is preventing the state of Rio de Janeiro from honoring its commitments to the Olympic and Paralympic Games Rio 2016," Dornelles said.
He said a cash shortfall is 'causing severe difficulties in the provision of essential public services and can even cause a total breakdown in public security, health, education, mobility and environmental management'.
"The objective is to call attention from all of society to Rio's problem. Some pretty tough measures will be taken," he told O Globo newspaper.
Dornelles is asking for $900 million from the federal government.
However the crisis is being played down by International Olympic Commission, which says it will have 'zero impact' on the Games.