This is not the first time that a visitor to Rio de Janeiro has been taken down a dangerous and wrong path and ended up being the target of gunfire. The news of the new crime – this time, against an Argentine tourist – gained prominence in the Argentine press. The victim is the former Secretary of Tourism of Bariloche and president of the Argentine Chamber of Student Tourism, Gastón Burlón, 51 years old, who was with his partner, the Secretary of Tourism of the province of Salta, Nadia Loza, two children and his girlfriend of one of them. They were returning from their visit to Christ the Redeemer. And maybe they still have photos of one of Brazil’s main postcards on their cell phones and cameras. The GPS took them to the Morro dos Prazeres favela, in the Santa Tereza neighborhood, in the central region of the city. Rescued, Burlón was taken to the Souza Aguiar municipal hospital. According to initial information, his condition was serious.
Several questions then arise. What makes GPS take a person, whether tourist or not, to a place where their life is at risk? Shouldn’t GPS be responsible for this act? And be forced to improve the application?
In 2017, an Argentine tourist, Natalia Lorena Cappetti, aged 42, was also taken by GPS, as reported by Clarín in Spanish, to the wrong place, was shot and died weeks later. A year earlier, in 2016, two Italians were shot at when they mistakenly entered Morro dos Prazeres. Shortly after the news of the shooting of the former Secretary of Tourism of Bariloche, Governor Claudio Castro had not commented on his social networks. Silence.
A few years ago, another Argentine tourist was stabbed on Itapuã beach, in Bahia. Tourists look for postcards and dream places that they became curious about through music. Spending an afternoon in Itapuã was his dream. And it ended in tragedy. The discussion about public policies should be at the top of Brazilian priorities. And details as simple as signage and safer GPS would prevent crimes and deaths of innocent people.