RIO DE JANEIRO — Gun battles still boom through the streets. Drug dealers still ply their trade in the labyrinth of alleyways. Residents of the Rocinha neighborhood still fume over the brutal tactics of the police, who were recently charged with torturing and killing an impoverished bricklayer.
New York Times: Now taking World Cup bookings, Rio’s slums
With hotel rooms in perilously short supply and even modest hostels in Rio de Janeiro charging as much as $450 for a bed during the World Cup in Brazil next year, the residents of Rocinha and other favelas, or slums, are making the most of the city's acute shortage of lodging for the event: They are renting out their homes to fans from around the globe, according to The New York Times.
