Rival protests clash in Brazil's biggest slum
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Protesters urging investments in basic sanitation services in Brazil's largest "favela" hillside slum have faced off with a rival group of slum dwellers, some waving flags of the governing Workers Party.
The confrontation took place Saturday in Rio de Janeiro's Rocinha slum, where activists from the pro-sanitation organization Meu Rio were holding a small demonstration.
An opposing crowd of Rocinha residents, some with Workers Party flags, descended on the protest and voiced support for government plans to build a cable car in the community. Meu Rio opposes the cable car, saying the money should be used for sewage treatment in the slum.
Meu Rio aims to draw attention to the Olympic city's massive sewage problem. Only 30 percent of Rio's sewage is treated. The rest flows raw into its waterways.
