Word: baixada
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...north, called the Baixada Fluminense, is one of the most violent stretches of urban blight in the world. Its streets are besieged, its laws ignored, its people embattled and its children exploited. An annual inflation rate of 1,765% aggravates the huge gap between rich and poor. "Children learn to steal because they are hungry," says human rights lawyer Fernando Rodrigues. "If the problems of the distribution of wealth and the elimination of hunger are not solved, there is no way one can expect to reduce the violence in the streets...
Though most tourists will never see the Baixada, they will feel its effect -- for the fear of crime colors the character of the entire city. Women avoid wearing necklaces and earrings. Drivers run red lights at night, lest they be held up at gunpoint while stopped. Some cars are equipped with a hidden button that cuts off the gas line, so that a thief can travel only a few blocks before the engine stalls. In the absence of reliable police patrols, neighborhoods band together to hire private armed guards who demand identification from visitors. "There is more fear now than...
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