Last year the Rio Olympics were 51% over budget, to the tune of $1.6 billion, the month before they opened. The 2014 World Cup $3 billion stadiums were becoming white elephants a year later.
Now Brazilian authorities have suspended the issuing of new passports because of a budget crisis:
The government said emergency funds for passports would be debated this week.
In a statement late on Tuesday, the federal police said the decision to stop issuing new passports “stems from a dearth of funds earmarked to the activities of migratory control and the issuance of travel documents”.
There’s a lot of finger-pointing, of course, and a long history corruption, and trying to look like a country with strong infrastructure, and whatever, but it all comes down to one thing: overspending.
Cross-posted at WoW! Magazine.
Brazil, Illinois & Puerto Rico – who would have thought? /sarc