With mind on Libya, Obama visits slum in Rio de Janeiro

By Diana Renee Mar 21, 2011, 0:17 GMT

Rio de Janeiro - US President Barack Obama's first official visit to Brazil may have been overshadowed by the military operation in Libya, but he visited a shantytown in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.

The president's visit to the Cidade de Deus neighbourhood, however, was far from the relaxed atmosphere that marked former president Bill Clinton's tour of the Mangueira favela in 1997.

Unlike Clinton, Obama did not walk around the slum that became famous across the world after the 2002 film, City of God, nor did he play football with the children there.

Obama - who on Saturday authorized from Brasilia the involvement of the United States in the military operation in Libya in line with a resolution by the UN Security Council - spent almost all his time in Cidade de Deus in a closed environment, far removed from the crowd that shouted his name.

At a facility of the Foundation for Childhood, Obama moved to the beat as he, his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha watched a performance by a children's percussion group from a local school. There was also a show of Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira by teenagers from the favela, and then Obama met with a group of young graffiti artists.

The visit, which was only confirmed at the last minute, lasted about 40 minutes, and took place amid a massive security operation involving Brazilian Army tanks and hundreds of police and military officers, as well as elite snipers.

The original plans for the president and his family to visit the Rio's landmark statue of Christ the Redeemer early Sunday were postponed until late evening, with no official explanation given.

Earlier, Obama was to address an audience of 2,000 invited guests, including Brazilian football legend Pele, at the Municipal Theatre in central Rio. That event too had been toned down from earlier plans for a speech in a central Rio square.

Pele was among those who greeted Clinton years ago when he visited Mangueira. They played football together, and the US president shook hundreds of hands as he walked around the favela.

This time, residents of Cidade de Deus had much more restricted access to arguably the world's most powerful man. However, many were still happy. The slum has in recent months been occupied by police and benefited from social programmes intended to keep the drug gangs off its streets.

'For us it is cause for joy, because our community will appear in the media for a reason that, this time, will have nothing to do with violence or crime,' said Jose Neves, president of a neighbourhood association.