The mega event city as neo-liberal laboratory: the case of Rio de Janeiro

As Brazil’s economic and political structures have stabilized over the past quarter century, the country has assumed an increasingly important role in global affairs. The dominant trends towards neo-liberalism in the global political-economy are being reproduced within the context of a state structure that has traditionally occupied a central role in the national economy. While transitions to neo-liberalism at the national scale occur more slowly it is argued that it is within urban contexts that coalitions of political and economic interests can most quickly transform space and social relations. In this sense, sports mega-events function as mechanisms for the implementation of neo-liberal modes of governance within urban contexts. This paper will examine the processes through which mega-events in Rio de Janeiro are staging the city as an active laboratory for new models of neo-liberal governance that are accelerating the transformation of Brazilian society