Essays: The Poverty Gap: Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is a city separated by the rich and the poor. In many instances they live side by side. There are over 700 favelas in Rio, many ruled by the violent hands of drug gangs that control the slums. Children are the ones caught in the pull of the gangs, who promise better lives, but really deliver early deaths with frequent clashes between rival gangs and the police.

An altercation at a busy intersection on Rua Santa Clara, in Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between police and gang members left four dead and two taken into custody on Monday night, March 24, 2009. (Photo by Matthew Williams/ZUMA Press)
   
Blood pools along the road after an altercation at a busy intersection on Rua Santa Clara, in Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between police and gang members left four dead and two taken into custody on Monday night, March 24, 2009.
   
A Rio citizen walks dogs along a street in busy Ipaema. The poor through the city are separated by very rich neighborhoods, many times, right next to the violence plagued favelas.
     
  
Young children play near the top of Favela Rocinha on a winter evening. Rocinha is a favela run by the drug faction A.D.A. or Amigos dos Amigos.
   
  
     
  
   
  
     
  
   
  
An altercation at a busy intersection on Rua Santa Clara, in Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between police and gang members left four dead and two taken into custody on Monday night, March 24, 2009. (Photo by Matthew Williams/ZUMA Press)