00:00We stay in Brazil where the federal police have opened a criminal investigation into the roof collapse in the historic landmark
00:06San Francisco Church in Salvador. Our correspondent Brian Meir has more.
00:14After the roof collapse in Salvador's San Francisco
00:17Church, killing one and injuring five tourists last week, the grief quickly turned to anger.
00:23Some politicians, church officials, and journalists tried to blame the tragedy on the National Institute of
00:29Historic and Artistic Heritage, or IFAN, a
00:32small agency that designates historic landmarks and provides technical support to their owners, but is not responsible for maintenance.
00:40Obviously, IFAN doesn't have the resources needed to reform all the historic buildings, and the owners don't have the habit of properly
00:47maintaining them, even when they have the resources to do so, like some orders of the Catholic Church. Aside from a small group of people
00:53who care about preservation, society as a whole only seems to worry about our historic landmarks after a disaster like this one, or the fire in
01:00the National Museum that happened in Rio de Janeiro a few years ago. Aside from these situations, people have little interest in historic preservation.
01:07So at these moments, everyone remembers that we have IFAN, and they blame it for things far beyond its capacity and legal responsibilities.
01:15Construction of San Francisco's church, nicknamed the Church of Gold, was finished in
01:201713, and before the roof collapsed last week,
01:23it was known as one of the seven wonders of Portuguese architecture. With dozens of other buildings in similar states of disrepair in the
01:31Pelourinho neighborhood, locals are wondering how many disasters have to take place before society realizes the importance of preserving its history.
01:39I hope that the authorities who represent our organized society and UNESCO take over the rehabilitation.
01:46People who don't preserve the past don't live in the present, and will never be able to build the future.
01:51Preserve to perpetuate. Long live Pelourinho.
01:55On Tuesday, the federal police initiated a criminal investigation into the roof collapse.
02:01Brian Mier, Tel Assur, Salvador.
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