, Columnist
A Teenager's Gang Rape Galvanizes Brazil
With rising violence adding to its woes, the country rallies to improve -- but only while the world is watching.
Brazil's police step it up.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The devastating Zika virus, endemic corruption and a failing economy: As if these were not miseries enough, now Brazilians are digesting the news of a brutal crime in the hills of Rio de Janeiro just weeks ahead of the summer Olympic Games.
This one was shocking even by Brazil’s outsize standards. Last week, a 16-year-old girl was reported gang-raped in a hillside favela, or slum. Some 30 men apparently took turns with the high school teenager, filmed the act and then posted their video on social media. And all this took place just a short drive from some of the city's gleaming new Olympics venues.