00:00Also as Brazil approaches Election Day, security remains one of the country's key political
00:05issues.
00:06While the far-right campaigns on a heavy-handed approach, our Special Envoy Belém de los
00:10Santos takes a closer look at what this concern means for Rio de Janeiro residents.
00:17Brazil is five days away from Election Day.
00:20With polls showing a close national race, campaigns are focusing on the issues that
00:25matter most to voters in each region.
00:27In Rio de Janeiro, violence and public safety remain at the center of the political debate.
00:34OUR Maine, problem is the issue of violence.
00:37We will always have this problem when we talk about Rio de Janeiro.
00:42Always the security, right?
00:44Because as there is the polarization of politics, there is the polarization of traffic and militia,
00:49the occupation.
00:50So many candidates use this, but they don't solve it.
00:53And this has been in Brazil since the 1970s.
00:57Capitalizing on this concern, the Bolsonarist far-right has strengthened its presence in the
01:02city over the years, calling for a tougher crackdown on crime and greater repression.
01:07But for many residents, violence cannot be seen in isolation from the social and economic
01:12conditions that shape life in Rio de Janeiro.
01:18I have some particular concerns.
01:21For example, the issue of commerce, the issue of employment.
01:24We have a huge crisis in the feverization, which in Rio de Janeiro is much more than in other
01:30states.
01:30That's my perception.
01:34We don't need more police, more coercion.
01:39We don't need more force.
01:41We need jobs as an alternative to violence.
01:43And we need to have this focus now on jobs, on generating jobs, on generating income within
01:50Rio.
01:54Others point to education and access to basic public services as key to creating those opportunities.
02:01The education of the children so that they grow up knowing that there's hope, having a horizon
02:06for them other than traffic, right?
02:08Because traffic takes a lot of these children too.
02:14The goods that are minimal for anyone, be it culture, be it education, be it public safety,
02:23health, in short, the minimum resources for the person to live with a minimum quality condition.
02:32The broader issue of security is said to be one of the key topics in the national election,
02:38with Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's third largest electoral district, as one of its most important
02:44battlegrounds.
02:46Brazilians are very hopeful, right?
02:48We always think things are going to get better, so I'm hopeful that things will be alright.
02:51Either way, I have my choice, which is left wing.
02:54Whichever one it is, they need to follow the right path.
02:58Francisco Samudio, Belen de los Santos, for Telesur English, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
