By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With thousands of partygoers on the streets during the five days of Carnival, some of the main concerns for city of officials in Rio de Janeiro have been dirty streets filled with trash and waste. To curb people causing public disorder the city instituted fines ranging anywhere from R$115 to R$3,693, and according to officials, more than two thousand people had been fined from Friday (February 5th) to Tuesday (February 9th).
“Those caught urinating on public streets and sidewalks were fined R$510 by officials,” said the statement released by the Municipal Public Order Department (Seop).
According to the department, with one more day to go for the festivities, the number of fines handed out in 2016 was already 25 percent greater than that registered during the 2015 Carnival.
Although there were many complaints of a lack of chemical bathrooms, according to the city officials more than twenty five thousand units were made available to partygoers, and were placed and moved according to the scheduled blocos (street parties) around town.
Also fined were motorists who parked in prohibited spots throughout the city and those non-registered vendors, called ambulantes, selling food and beverage on city streets. The great majority of those fined were men, and eleven of the total were foreigners.
Officials estimate that more than one million people participated in this year’s Carnival festivities, including the two days of Grupo Especial (Special Group) samba school parades at Rio’s Sambódromo and the hundreds of blocos throughout the city.