Paes: "The Rio government's work on security is awful"
Two days after demanding "shame on their faces" from the Rio de Janeiro state government, led on an interim basis by Francisco Dornelles, Mayor Eduardo Paes did not hold back in his criticism of security, a job which, according to him, has not been satisfactory on the part of the state government; "This is the most serious issue in Rio, and the state is doing a terrible, horrible job. The government is completely failing in its job of policing and caring for people," he said; this Monday, civil police, military police, and firefighters protested against lack of pay and poor working conditions.
Rio 247 - The mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes (PMDB), did not hold back in his criticism of the Rio de Janeiro state government for the lack of security. On the same day that civil police, military police, and firefighters protested against unpaid wages and poor working conditions in Rio, Paes stated that the state's work has not been satisfactory.
"This is the most serious issue in Rio, and the state is doing a terrible, awful job. The government is completely failing in its job of policing and caring for the people," Paes lashed out at the administration of Francisco Dornelles, who has been governing Rio on an interim basis since Luiz Fernando Pezão stepped down for health reasons.
CNN, which interviewed the mayor, recalled recent events in the city, such as the assault on a Paralympic athlete and the death of a doctor on the Red Line highway, as well as the theft of equipment from a German TV station at the end of last week.
"(During the Games) the Army, the Navy and everyone will be here. It's a good thing the state won't be responsible for security during that period," Paes added.
Paes had already criticized Governor Francisco Dornelles this past weekend, saying he was "indignant" with the state government's "whining." According to the mayor, the state executive "has already passed on too much responsibility to the municipality, received money from the federal government, it's time to manage, to have some shame and fulfill its obligations."
"This whining is already hindering Rio too much. Now it's time to work. I trust Governor Dornelles and I hope he gets his cabinet to roll up their sleeves and stop all this blah-blah-blah. There's too much complaining all day long. Take responsibility, the resources are available, President Michel Temer helped, they should be thanking him, licking their lips, and getting on with their lives," he exclaimed.