Cleaning Up

So called “pacifications” were supposed to pave the way for development of long-neglected areas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's second-biggest city and a metropolitan area home to 11 million people, therefore creating The Pacifying Police Unit (Portuguese: Unidade de Polícia Pacificadora), a military police with the intent of reestablishing security and diminishing criminality. The UPPs stand at the center of the security strategy of Rio governor Sérgio Cabral Filho. The police set up permanent outposts in the favelas in order to be able to patrol the areas on a daily basis and be able to quickly respond to the criminal activity of gangs such as Comando Vermelho and Amigos dos Amigos. There are now approximately 34 UPPs in Rio controlling more than 100 favelas with hundreds of thousands of residents. Most Favelas, such as Villa Allianca are still in the hands of an army of drug dealers and criminals who do not seem to be willing to step down or be “pacified” by the so called "Sweepers" who are constantly patrolling the communities ahead of the World Cup and the upcoming Olympics.