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Lament�vel... --- HOUSTON CHRONICLE 801 Texas Ave. Houston, Texas 77002 USA Rio's violence triggers exodus by corporations May 29, 2004, 6:35PM - By RODRIGO GAIER - Reuters News Service RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Rampant violence in Brazil's second-biggest city of Rio de Janeiro is affecting not only individuals but also businesses, with some big companies choosing to shut their offices and move elsewhere in the country. The situation worsened with last month's turf war between gangs in Rocinha, one of Rio's biggest slums - not far from the upscale Leblon, Ipanema and Barra da Tijuca neighborhoods where many executives live. "The only companies not really thinking of leaving the city are those working in the oil sector as they cannot take the Campos oil basin with them," said Vagner D'Angelo, security director with Kroll risk consultancy. At least four big companies were planning to move headquarters to more secure locations in Brazil like the Northeast, Parana or S�o Paulo, he said. An executive with Shell and his wife, both formerly of the Houston area, were murdered in their Rio home last year. Houston-based oil services company Halliburton has created an online communications channel that provides employees with safety information. Cia Siderurgica Nacional, one of Brazil's biggest steel makers, said it is moving its headquarters to S�o Paulo mainly because its new owner is based there. But some employees say Rio violence was also a motive. Murder rates of more than 40 per 100,000 people over the past few years make Rio one of the world's most dangerous places, along with Cali, Colombia, and Johannesburg, South Africa. Violence rates are about as high in S�o Paulo as in Rio. But slums in S�o Paulo, Brazil's financial capital, are farther away from middle-class areas. Companies that are staying in Rio, especially in the high-risk areas around the notorious shantytowns, have little choice but to invest in more security or simply try to protect their employees by sending them home before dark. "It's not everyone who will dare to work here," said Sandra Lourenco, an administrative worker at domestic appliances maker Faet in northern Rio. The Faet plant is surrounded by various favela slums. Lourenco said the plant and other businesses in the area must follow orders from drug gangs on when to shut their doors. Bandits sometimes order business shutdowns in mourning for dead kingpins or when they anticipate clashes with police or rival gangs. --- Fonte: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/2598960 - c.a.t. www.iis.com.br/~cat �timo dia pra voc�. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/goldenlist/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
