VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRI #0012/01 0071734
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071734Z JAN 10
FM AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0095
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO

UNCLAS RIO DE JANEIRO 000012 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG ASEC HUD OPIC EAIR SOCI BR
SUBJECT: Rio Radar - January 7, 2010 
 
REF: 2009 RIO DE JANEIRO 329 
 
¶1. (U) Rio Radar is a regular compilation of key economic, 
political, commercial, and other developments in the states of Rio 
de Janeiro, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo, and Sergipe.  This 
report's subjects: 
 
 
 
NUCLEAR REACTORS REMAIN OPERATIONAL AFTER DEADLY MUDSLIDES 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) Brazil's two nuclear reactors will stay open near the town 
of Angra do Reis, Rio de Janeiro state, despite calls from Angra do 
Reis' mayor to shut them down after December 31 mudslides killed 75 
state-wide and blocked parts of the highways linking Angra do Reis 
with Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.  According to Angra do Reis 
Mayor Tuca Jordao, the town's 150,000 residents would not be able 
to evacuate the area due to the blocked highways and the threat of 
more mudslides, in the event of an accident involving the reactors. 
Leonam Guimaraes, Chief Executive Officer of Eletronuclear, the 
state-owned company that operates the plant, told us there were no 
plans to cease operations.  He stated the mayor's concerns were 
misplaced, as Eletronuclear's safeguards were reliable and 
thorough.  Angra's two nuclear reactors generate approximately 
1,900 megawatts of electric energy, comprising slightly less than 3 
percent of the national electricity supply. 
 
 
 
RIO EXTENDS FAVELA PACIFICATION PROGRAM 
 
 
 
¶3. (U) On December 23, 2009, Rio de Janeiro extended its Favela 
Pacification Program (reftel) to two favela communities, Ladeira 
dos Tabajaras and Morro dos Cabritos, deploying Military Police 
special operations units (BOPE) into the favelas (shantytowns) to 
expel drug trafficking elements that held de facto control over the 
communities.  There were no reports of resistance or arrests.  The 
operation brings the total number of favelas under the Pacification 
Program to nine. 
 
 
 
GUNFIRE AND GRENADE IN COPACABANA WOUND FIVE 
 
 
 
¶4. (U) On January 2, 2010, gunfire and a grenade explosion left 
four bystanders and one suspected gang member wounded in the 
predominantly tourist and residential district of Copacabana. 
According to the commander of the Military Police Battalion that 
patrols the area, the violence ensued after suspected drug 
trafficking gang members returned to the Pav????o-Pav????ozinho 
favela in 
order to recover a weapons cache there, and were spotted by 
military police officers, resulting in an exchange of gunfire and 
vehicular chase. (Note: On November 30, 2009, Military Police 
entered the favela, expelling the controlling drug trafficking 
elements, and, on December 23, some 300 Pacification Police (UPP) 
officers began community policing operations in the 
Pav????o-Pav????ozinho and Cantagalo favelas.  End Note).  Police 
arrested five suspects and seized several weapons, including a high 
caliber machine gun, assault rifles, and Israeli-made pistols. 
 
 
 
US AIRWAYS BEGINS SERVING BRAZIL 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) On December 16, 2009, ConGen Rio's Principal Officer and 
Commercial Officer joined US Airways in inaugurating a direct Rio 
de Janeiro-Charlotte, North Carolina flight, marking the airline's 
first route in Latin America.  The company has plans to expand to 
Sao Paulo and other Brazilian cities through code-sharing 
agreements. 
 
 
 
OPIC INVESTMENT IN RIO HOUSING PROJECTS? 
 
 
¶6. (U) On December 14 and 15, 2009, the Director for Housing and a 
Senior Insurance Officer from the Overseas Private Investment 
Corporation (OPIC), led a delegation of U.S. investors to Rio de 
Janeiro interested in investment opportunities in low and middle 
income housing.  The delegation, briefed by Principal Officer and 
Commercial Officer, attended a seminar at the Construction 
Association and held meetings with the Rio State Secretary for 
Housing, the Rio de Janeiro Industrial Federation (FIRJAN), the 
federal mortgage bank (Caixa Economica), and the Municipal 
Secretariats for Finance and Housing. 
 
 
 
RIO MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES THREE YEAR GOALS 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) On December 4, 2009, the Rio de Janeiro municipal government 
announced the following goals over the next three years: 
 
 
 
--Health: Building 20 new Public Health Units (UPAs) and reducing 
emergency room wait times by 20 percent, as well as cutting the 
infant mortality rate by 11 percent; 
 
--Security: Installing 400 additional video surveillance cameras 
around the city; 
 
--Urban infrastructure:  Repaving over 300 kilometers of the city's 
streets and reducing favela (shantytown) areas by 3.5 percent; 
 
--Transportation:  Reducing public transit time by 10 percent and 
implementing a special bus pass that will reduce costs for longer 
commutes; 
 
--2016 Olympic Games: Completing construction of Olympic Villas; 
 
--Social assistance: Reducing the number of indigent residents by 
14 percent; 
 
--Environment: Increasing sewage treatment capacity by 50 percent, 
seeking alternative solid waste sites, and increasing the number of 
bike lanes; 
 
--Education: Scores of 5.1 and 4.3 by primary and secondary level 
students, respectively, on Brazil's Basic Education Development 
Index.  In 2007, the national average was 4.2 for primary students 
and 3.8 for secondary level students; 
 
--Public Finance: Instituting new contracting mechanisms. 
HEARNE