A number of notable controversies and concerns associated with the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, emerged which were the subject of public debate and media commentary.
Preexisting issues
Zika virus
An outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in Brazil raised fears regarding its potential impact on athletes and visitors. Organizers plan to perform daily inspections of Olympic venues to prevent puddles of stagnant water that allow mosquitoes to breed. Zika virus transmission was also attributed to inefficient sewage treatment in the area, and sewage treatment is being improved in preparation for the Games.
There had been numerous calls for the Games to be postponed, warning that the anticipated attendance of 500,000 international visitors could cause the virus to rapidly spread outside of the country. In the first quarter of 2016, there were also more cases of the mosquito-borne Dengue fever than in 2015 alone. Dr. Amir Attaran of the University of Ottawa, writing for the Harvard Public Health Review, noted that Rio had the highest concentration of Zika infections out of all Brazilian states. He argued that the Olympics could result in a "global catastrophe" of Zika outbreaks, and asserted that it was "socially irresponsible" and "ethically questionable" to allow them to continue. On the other hand, it has been argued that the threat of Zika will not be as high during the Games, citing computer models and simulations, as well as the fact that the Games will be held during Southern Hemisphere winter, which is when mosquitoes are least active. The initial outbreak of Zika in Brazil occurred during the winter months, but in Northeastern states near the equator, where there is no winter season throughout the year. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated that "there is no public health reason to cancel or delay the Olympics".
In May 2016, a group of 150 physicians and scientists sent an open letter to the World Health Organization, calling upon them to, according to co-author Arthur Caplan, have "an open, transparent discussion of the risks of holding the Olympics as planned in Brazil". The WHO dismissed the request, stating that "cancelling or changing the location of the 2016 Olympics will not significantly alter the international spread of Zika virus", and that there was "no public health justification" for postponing them.
Many athletes declined to participate in the Games citing concerns over Zika, including Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych, Simona Halep, Karolína Plíšková, The Bryan brothers, Jason Day, Tejay van Garderen, Branden Grace, Dustin Johnson, Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel, Angelo Que and Jordan Spieth. As the majority of the athletes that have pulled out were golfers, International Golf Federation president Peter Dawson believed that there was "something of an overreaction" to Zika, stating that "I think I should say now that I don't think it's appropriate for us to discuss individual cases, especially as they're generally decisions that have been taken on health grounds. Speaking collectively though, there is no doubt that the number of withdrawals hasn't shed golf in the best light. We have to accept that. But we do understand why these individual decisions have been taken".
On 2 September 2016, the WHO reported that there were no confirmed cases of Zika among athletes or visitors during the Olympics.
Sanitation
The Guanabara Bay, whose waters were to be used for sailing and windsurfing competitions, is heavily polluted. Among the chief causes of the pollution are uncollected trash fed into the bay via polluted rivers and shanty towns along the coast. Pollution of the Guanabara has been a long-term issue; although officials promised at the Earth Summit in 1992 that they would begin to address the pollution, previous attempts to do so were insufficient. As an aspect of their bid for the Games, Rio once again committed to making efforts towards cleaning the bay. However, some of these proposed initiatives faced budgetary issues.
Before these efforts, only 17% of Rio's sewage was treated; this raw sewage also leaked into the bay. In 2011, a new consortium took over the operations of Rio's sewage system in its western "AP5" zone as a legacy project for the Games. The consortium committed to building out upgrades to the sewage system that would reduce the amount of sewage flowing into the bay by 17 million gallons by the end of 2016. However, adoption of the new system was slow and inconsistent because of concerns by residents over installation costs. Although Mayor of Rio Eduardo Paes stated that the city might not be able to reach its goal of having 80% of sewage treated, at least 60% of sewage was treated by March 2016, with a projected goal of 65% of sewage being treated by the time the Olympics start.
The pollution also led to concerns over how it would affect competitions and the health of athletes, especially concerns that the polluted waterways could cause athletes to be unable to compete. In 2014, sailors training in the bay told The New York Times that they had to contend with dodging various forms of trash floating in its waters, ranging from tires to dog carcasses. That December, researchers from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation found drug-resistant "super bacteria"—KPC enzymes—in samples of water from the Carioca River. They warned that "carriers can take these resistant bacteria back to their own environments and to other people, resulting in a cycle of dissemination". In 2015, it was found that because of open drainage and severe pollution, the incidence of "disease-causing viruses" in Rio's waterways was measured to be "1.7 million times the level of what would be considered hazardous on a Southern California beach". Following a test event in August 2015, German sailor Erik Heil was found to have been infected with multi-resistant bacteria that are believed to have been connected to the sewage.
Political instability and economic crisis
In 2014, Operation Car Wash, an investigation by the Federal Police of Brazil, uncovered unprecedented money laundering and corruption at the state-controlled oil company Petrobras, where executives allegedly accepted bribes in return for awarding contracts to construction firms at inflated prices. In early 2015, a series of protests against alleged corruption by the government of President Dilma Rousseff began in Brazil, triggered by revelations that numerous politicians were involved in the Petrobras affair. By early 2016, the scandal had escalated into a full-blown political crisis affecting not only President Rousseff, but also former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, resulting in massive demonstrations all over the country involving millions of protesters, both anti and pro-Rousseff. On 17 April 2016, the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of the Brazilian Parliament) concluded a general vote for the admission of the impeachment process. At that moment, polls showed that 61% of Brazilians believed Rousseff should be impeached, but polls also showed almost the same amount of Brazilians believed Vice President Michel Temer, who was supposed to inherit the presidency following the impeachment process began as Interim President, should be impeached too. In addition, Senator Romero Jucá, appointed as planning minister after Rousseff's dismissal, was caught on tape with former oil executive Sergio Machado agreeing that removing Rousseff is the only way for ending the investigation.
At the same time, Brazil faces its worst economic recession since the 1990s, raising questions about whether the country is adequately prepared for the Games against a volatile political and economic backdrop. According to one OECD spokesperson the Brazilian recession will endure until 2018 and can only be resolved by holding new elections. The IOC, in turn, has stated that it is following the political developments "very closely". On 14 April, the Olympic Security Coordination assured that the economic and political crises would not affect the security and fulfillment of the Games. In his speech during the Olympic torch lighting ceremony in Olympia, IOC President Thomas Bach commented on Brazil's political situation: "This will be the Brazilian Games. Despite the difficulties that the country faces, the event will bring a message of hope to every corner of its territory and also worldwide. The Games will take place in a moment in which the world is shaken by crises. I want to pay tribute to the Brazilian people, who, in a few weeks, will welcome the world with enthusiasm and will leave everyone amazed by its joy and its passion for sports".
On 12 May, President Rousseff was stripped of her powers and duties for 180 days, after an impeachment vote in the Federal Senate, thus Vice President Temer will be acting president during the Games. Rousseff will not be invited to attend any event during the Games. Instead, the main invitation as head of state was sent to Temer as acting president. Temer's legitimacy has been questioned though. Prior to the impeachment vote, the majority of Brazilians supported holding new general elections as a way to solve the political crisis, while only 8% favored Temer's rise to power. As a result of this perception, anti-Temer protests are becoming larger and intenser, and some politicians have claimed the Games will take place amidst political turmoil.
Security
Since Rio de Janeiro was awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics, the city's crime problems have received more attention. Rio's mayor has admitted that there are "big issues" facing the city in securing the Games from violence. However, he also said that such concerns and issues were presented to the IOC throughout the bidding process. The governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro also highlighted the fact that London faced security problems, with a terrorist attack occurring there on the day after the IOC chose London to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. The estimate was that 5,000 men of the National Public Security Force and 22,000 military officers (14,800 Army; 5,900 Navy and 1,300 of the Brazilian Air Force), in addition to the fixed quota of Rio de Janeiro, will act during the Olympic Games. Many of these officers have been training for possible terrorist attacks, such as on the Metrô. To ensure that no unauthorized persons would be able to enter the Games, additional screening measures were enacted at venues.
The IOC has expressed optimism regarding the ability of the city and the nation of Brazil to address these concerns, saying that seven years is enough time for Rio de Janeiro to clean up its crime problem. IOC spokesman Mark Adams told The Associated Press, "we have confidence in their capacity to deliver a safe Games in seven years. Security is of course a very important aspect of any Olympic Games no matter where it is in the world. This is of course entirely under the national, regional and city authorities". Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, former president of Brazil, noted that the city has hosted other high-profile events without major incidents, for example the 2007 Pan American Games.
Community-based Police Pacification Units (UPPs) will be used to build trust in individual communities through the use of street patrols and civic work. Moreover, The Regional Institute of Public Safety reported that the homicide rate of Rio de Janeiro for the first five months of 2012 was at its lowest in the past 21 years, with 10.9 homicides for every 100,000 inhabitants. Despite the decline in homicides and human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch urged Brazil to investigate extrajudicial killings.
Crime