Cancel Carnaval? No way, say weary Rio de Janeiro residents

RIO DE JANEIRO — Hordes of gleeful young men and women decked out in outrageous costumes, their faces coated in glitter, will sing and dance to the rhythmic beat of Samba music Friday, as they celebrate the start of Carnaval, this city's annual over-the-top festival ushering in Lent.

The joy and debauchery may be especially welcome this year to distract Brazilians from the gloom hanging over a country mired in economic and political troubles that won't go away.

The world's ninth largest economy is still in the throes of its worst recession ever, a slump that has left millions unemployed, sparked violent protests over delayed public paychecks and led to a worrisome increase in violent crime.

On top of that, politicians throughout the country are in the grip of a growing corruption scandal that has even tainted President Michel Temer, who ascended to that office after his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff was impeached last summer.

"We're truly living through a very difficult moment," said Francisco Manoel 'Chiquinho' de Carvalho, president of Estação Primeira de Mangueira, a storied samba school that was founded in 1928. "But I think that Carnaval has the potential to overcome all of that."

"I think this year's celebration will be even bigger than last year's," he added. "Brazilians love a challenge."

The city's identity is tied to the holiday — where African and indigenous rituals long ago fused with Catholic ones into a unique week-long celebration preceding the mourning and fasting of Lent.

Elsewhere in Brazil, officials have canceled or curtailed Carnaval celebrations in dozens of cities because of strains on public coffers.

But not here. Canceling Carnaval would be akin to canceling Christmas. Throughout the city, 26 samba schools spend the year preparing for Carnaval by building enormous floats and costumes for the yearly parade that drew 1 million tourists to the city last year. While ticket sales to the parade have slumped and hotels are bracing for empty rooms, last year's Carnaval champions are feeling more hopeful than ever.

As members of the Mangueira samba school, decked out in their traditional colors of pink and green, took to the stage for a public concert in front of thousands of adoring fans, one member of the crowd stood out from the rest.

Denise Nascimento—dressed in a short gold-sequined dress, rhinestone-studded heels, green-glittered eyeshadow and a purple feathered headdress—explained Carnaval's relevance to Cariocas — as Rio residents are called — even in a moment of deep political and economic instability. "Everybody's got problems these days, but Mangueira is a refuge, where you can forget, if at least for a few hours, Brazil's many problems," she said.

Even the police have threatened to go on strike, leading President Michel Temer to deputize 9,000 federal troops to deploy throughout the Rio area — including the city's iconic beaches — in the days before Carnaval. In nearby Espírito Santo state, a police strike led to days of rioting in which nearly 150 people were killed.

In the past few months, prison riots around the country raised new fears that a truce between the country's biggest gangs is disintegrating, and a fairy-tale run for a small-town soccer team ended in a fiery plane crash that killed 71 people.

Meanwhile, an enormous political corruption investigation, now completing its third year, is set to enter its most explosive phase yet, when the plea deals struck between prosecutors and top executives of construction giant Odebrecht are released. The deals are said to contain potentially damning corruption allegations against top Brazilian officials—including Temer.

Not everyone in Rio is in a celebratory mood. Rio's new mayor, Marcelo Crivella, plans to break with decades of tradition by traveling during the festivities and has auctioned off his box seats in the Sambadrome.

The governor of Rio de Janiero state, Luiz Fernando Pezão, is currently fighting an electoral court ruling that would bar him from office, while his predecessor, Sérgio Cabral, has been arrested and charged with money laundering and corruption charges.

Outside the event in Mangueira, street vendor Deira Telinha Veralucia — whose short hair was dyed bright pink — sold ice-cold beers to the crowds mingling in the sticky evening heat. "This year is a Carnaval of crisis," she said. "But even if we lose, the streets will fill up with celebration."