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WORLD NEWS Friday 3 March 2017

Evangelical Rio mayor skips Carnival, drawing ire and praise

front-and-center of lavish the bash, Cariocas, as Rio In lengthy statement
Carnival ceremonies. residents are known, joked Wednesday, Crivella said
“There is no bigger job for a about whether Crivella he decided not to go to
mayor than to follow close- might be photographed the Sambadrome because
ly everything that happens with a half-naked samba “in my case it would have
during Carnival,” wrote dancer or next to floats in- been demagogy.”
Folha de S.Paulo columnist spired by Afro-Brazilian reli- “People of Rio reject a
Alvaro Costa e Silva. “The gions like Candomble and mayor with a mask, even
recent (accidents) were Umbanda.Still, Crivella, during Carnival,” he wrote,
related to a lack of regula- who took power Jan. 1 af- apparently alluding to the
tion” by city authorities. ter winning 59 percent of clash between his religious
But many evangelicals the vote, had promised not beliefs and the celebra-
celebrated his decision to to let his faith get in the way tions.Crivella said that dur-
snub a festival they frown of governing. Many argued ing the festivities, he was fo-
upon. that he broke that promise cused on the safety of the
Retired Pentecostal Bishop and Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo “Crivella is a good man, a with Carnival. city, and that his team had
Crivella speaks in Brazil’s Copacabana. Crivella did the unthink- bishop,” said Maria Figuera, “When I read that the may- met to revise regulations so
able over the last week: He snubbed the city’s legendary Car- an 80-year-old member of or wasn’t coming, it was as there are not future acci-
nival. a chapter of the Universal if he was saying that the dents during parades.
(AP Photo/Leo Correa) Church of the Kingdom of 70,000 people who come Evangelicals have enjoyed
M. SAVARESE clock partying and overt God, Crivella’s church. “As to the Sambadrome and a growing role in politics
P. PRENGAMAN sexual displays. an evangelical, he should all the millions in the streets in Brazil, a center of ex-
Associated Press Crivella’s unheard-of deci- not be part of Carnival.” were bad people because traordinary growth for their
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rio sion to stand up organizers Carnival was always go- we like Carnival,” said churches and also home
de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo at the Rio Carnival’s open- ing to put the evangelical 18-year-old reveler Carla to more Catholics than
Crivella did the unthink- ing ceremony Friday night, mayor in a tight spot. In Ferraz. “He should be a any other country in the
able over the last week: He then skip the city’s most im- the weeks leading up to better host.” world.q
snubbed the city’s legend- portant event entirely over
ary Carnival. the next several days, be-
And in doing so, the re- came one of the most talk-
tired Pentecostal bishop ed about aspects of this
exposed sharp divisions in year’s bash. It even led to
a society known for easy- accusations that his seem-
going attitudes toward ingly hands-off approach
sex and celebration but could have been a fac-
with a large-and-growing tor in two float accidents
evangelical community that happened during the
that loathes a bacchana- Carnival’s central parades.
lia famed for its round-the- Previous mayors have been
El Salvador reports sharp drop
in homicides so far during 2017

SAN SALVADOR, El Salva- same period.
dor (AP) — Homicides have Cotto attributed the de-
dropped sharply in El Sal- cline to a government
vador so far in 2017, the crackdown and legislation
government said this week, giving authorities extraordi-
after the gang-plagued nary powers to fight gangs,
country posted some of such as blocking cellphone
the world’s highest murder communications in prisons
rates in recent years. and isolating jailed lead-
National police Commis- ers in maximum-security
sioner Howard Cotto said conditions.The country
237 killings were recorded had a homicide rate of 81
in February. Added to 256 per 100,000 inhabitants in
in January, that’s 493 for 2016. The previous year it
the first two months. was 103, the highest violent
Last year El Salvador saw death rate for any nation
1,404 homicides during the not in open war.q