Rio de Janeiro Residents Demonstrate Against Oil Bill

Downtown Rio de Janeiro filled with more than 80,000 people who endured heavy rainfall today to demonstrate against a proposal cutting the state’s share of Brazil’s oil royalties.

Rio Governor Sergio Cabral was joined by political leaders and local artists in the march to protest a bill approved by the Lower House of congress March 10 that would give a bigger share of oil production revenue to non-producing cities and states.

“This demonstration was an act of love and generosity for Rio,” Cabral told a crowd from a stage set up near the city’s Municipal Theater. He stood near Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, Environment Minister Carlos Minc and dozens of politicians. After his speech, samba bands played for demonstrators.

Under the proposal, oil-rich states such as Rio and Espirito Santo would receive smaller royalties. The measure will go to the Senate for a committee vote.

Some cariocas, as Rio residents are known, painted their faces with white and blue stripes, the colors of the state flag. Streets in the downtown area, home to the headquarters of Brazil’s biggest companies Petroleo Brasileiro SA and Vale SA, were closed to traffic since early in the afternoon. About 240,000 public servants were allowed to leave work early to attend the demonstration.

Educational Programs

“I’m here because we depend on that money for some educational programs,” said Alba Trajano de Luna Gomes, a manager at the education secretariat in Campos de Goytacazes, a city in northern Rio state. “Hundreds of thousands of children will suffer if this bill gets passed.”

Rio’s police deployed 4,775 officers to patrol downtown, and estimated the crowd at 80,000. There were no reports of violence. Trucks outfitted with stages and speakers parked on Rio Branco Avenue, one of the main arteries in downtown Rio, and hosted samba bands whose music rang out after the demonstration.

Minc said environmental programs such as the cleanup of Rio de Janeiro’s bays may not be feasible if oil royalties are cut, according to O Globo newspaper.

Cabral, who called the proposed measure a “lynching,” said losses to the state government could reach 7.2 billion reais ($4.1 billion) a year. The governor and Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the president of Rio de Janeiro’s Olympics Committee, said the proposed cut would leave the state unable to build infrastructure projects that are vital to the 2016 games.

The Olympics, to be held for the first time in a South American country, will inject $51.1 billion into Brazil’s economy through 2027 and add 120,000 jobs a year through 2016, according to a study by a Sao Paulo business school for the Ministry of Sports.