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A look at the favella/slum of Santa Marta since the 2008 takeover by Rio police and a rehab program to evict drug dealers was established.
AP: "The program has transformed the slums, bringing improved security, utilities and investment, and incorporating local businesses into the formal economy. But the changes also have driven up rents and increased bureaucracy, pushing many of the poorest residents further to the margins."
AND: "A survey by the state government showed real estate prices in some slums skyrocketed up to 400 percent after police took control and outsiders started eyeing the still-affordable living space."
ALSO: From by Erik German/Solana Pyne text with 4:42 video :Rio police detective Isabella Magacho, 32, wants to be a Carnival Samba Queen.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/brazil/101221/carnival-queen-police
FINALLY: the NYT's Alexei Barrioneuvo reports on the içás, or queen ants, eating tradition in Silveiras, 190 miles from S.Paulo and how growing pesticide use is threatening the custom.
“Tastes like mint,” said one local about the ants. The indigena value them for protein and also as an aphrodisiac and source of natural antibiotics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/world/americas/05ants.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=all
