Brazil overcomes police strikes ahead of world-famous Carnival

Feb 14, 2012, 16:10 GMT

Rio de Janeiro - Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, two sites of Brazil's world-famous Carnival, were all set for this week's upcoming parties after overcoming police strikes that had put celebrations at risk.

Rio de Janeiro is to formally launch its celebrations Friday, while Salvador begins celebrations a day earlier.

Rio's police and fire departments had started a strike last week, but few took part and it hardly changed the city's routine. However, scores of strike leaders were arrested.

The officers and firefighters suspended their protest late Monday, and were back patrolling the streets on Tuesday. But they said they were considering further strikes after the Carnival was over.

The approach of Carnival, which Rio authorities expect to attract 850,000 visitors, has been apparent on the streets of Rio for days, as samba schools and other groups prepare their crowded, colourful shows.

City authorities estimate the celebrations to bring in around 640 million dollars this year.

The northeastern state of Bahia, of which Salvador is the capital, was also gearing up for the start of its Carnival celebrations, after the end of a 12-day police strike during which the murder rate had more than doubled.

Carnival in Salvador - Brazil's third-largest city, after Sao Paulo and Rio - is to start Thursday and end the following week on Ash Wednesday. It is the longest such event in Brazil.

Soldiers, deployed in Bahia during the strike, will help almost 20,000 state police officers enforce law and order on the streets.

'We will have a normal Carnival,' Bahia Governor Jacques Wagner said Monday.

The strike, which ended Saturday without state authorities giving in to police officers' demands, appeared for days to put Bahia's Carnival celebrations at risk. Several strike leaders were arrested on suspicion of promoting crime during the protest.

Bahia authorities have invested 33 million dollars in Carnival preparations this year. The event drew in more than half a million tourists last year, who spent more than 300 million dollars in the state.

Salvador's Carnival is one of the best-known in Brazil, characterized by stages set up on trucks on which stars of the local Axe music perform. These concerts draw hundreds of thousands of spectators over seven days.

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