Olympics-Police pull down 'favela' built on Copacabana to protest Games
By REUTERS
A mock favela built on Copacabana beach to protest the lack of an Olympic legacy for Rio de Janeiro's poor was broken up by police on Saturday, who said it was blocking access to the beach.Activists of the group Rio de Paz, which uses protest art to highlight social issues such as violence against women and public security, erected mock shacks, a polluted open sewer and a Brazilian flag peppered with bullet holes on the beach during the early hours of Saturday.At 0800 local time, municipal security officials of the National Guard arrived and asked protesters to pull down the installation. After an hour-long stand-off, the officials started taking down the artwork which was supposed to be on display until early Saturday evening.Activists sat on the sand - many of them with tape over their mouths to symbolize a lack of voice for Rio's excluded - as guards pulled apart the wooden shacks built next to the Olympic rings which have become a popular tourist spot on the beach.
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