4. For a public and popular Maracanã A symbol of sport and culture in the country and a listed heritage by IPHAN, the stadium was practically demolished for the construction of an “arena” with FIFA’s standard requirements. The process was notable for its authoritarian nature and lack of popular participation, and was considered a “crime” by the Council of IPHAN, body responsible for its preservation. The demolition and reconstruction of Maracanã cost more than R$1,000 million, financed by the public coffers while benefiting construction companies such as Odebrecht, which nowadays is part of the consortium that won the bidding for the stadium’s management privatisation. The values and circumstances under which the contract was signed show losses for the government and raise suspicion of undue advantages, monopoly and corruption. Beyond complaints of irregularities and the loss of architectural characteristics, the “New Maracanã” buried some of its main characteristics: it is not the “world’s largest” anymore, with its audience capacity greatly reduced; it is no longer the symbolic stage of Rio’s festive manifestations, now limited or precluded by European standards of “arenas”; and, as a symbol of the whole process, it is no longer the democratic stage of popular participation and gathering of the city, with its new VIP areas and ticket prices that prevent the attendance of the poorer part of the population. This whole process also damaged football clubs, as they now have a high-maintenance stadium, as well as having to share the profits from games with the infamous Consortium. Due to these factors, we defend the implementation of a new management model, based on social overview and with direct participation of all users of the facilities in its surroundings (among those, users of the Friedenreich School, Célio de Barros Athletics Stadium, and Júlio Delamare Water Park, residents of Aldeia Maracanã, football supporters, the State University of Rio de Janeiro, etc.).
5. Reforestation of the Environmental Protection Area (APA) of Marapendi, with immediate interruption of the Olympic Golf Course developments and the construction of luxury towers at the site. The Environmental Protection Area (APA) of Marapendi was established in 1991. In 2012, a Complementary Law project, authored by the Executive Power, approved the exclusion of an area measuring 58,500 square meters from the APA, a local previously classified as a Wildlife Conservation Zone, which impeded developments there. The change, approved by the City Council, had the alleged objective of allowing for the construction of a golf course for the 2016 Olympics. However, the real intentions of the project advertised as a facility for the 2016 Olympics involved manoeuvres to benefit real estate speculation in the region, as City Hall’s permit to destroy the area included the permission to build 22 towers with 22 storeys each, which blueprints – altered in the same process that excluded preservation areas – was of six storeys each until then. Movements affirm that there was excessive compensation in the public-private partnership (PPP), since the profit with the towers would surpass R$1,000 million, while the construction of the golf course will cost less than R$60 million. The construction of a golf course in an environmental protection area is unsustainable. There is already a place which hosts international competitions – the Itanhangá Golf Club – which made itself available to make the necessary adaptations to host the Olympic event, nullifying the need to build a new golf course. We defend the immediate interruption of the Olympic golf course developments and the construction of luxury towers at the site, with a review of the Complementary Law and the reforestation of the APA of Marapendi with native vegetation.
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