Of all the bad press, though, nothing has captured the world’s attention like the supposed late-night robbery, this weekend, of Ryan Lochte and three other swimmers from the U.S. Olympic team. At first, the story seemed to confirm Rio’s inability to keep its most celebrated visitors safe, even with eighty-five thousand soldiers and police officers deployed throughout the city. Now it appears that the swimmers may have fabricated their account, to avoid revealing that they had, instead, drunkenly smashed up a gas-station bathroom and got into an altercation with a security guard. On Wednesday, when doubts about their story began to emerge, Lochte was already back in the United States, but Brazilian police, seeking answers, pulled two of the other swimmers involved, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, off a plane at the airport.
The news has captivated Brazilians, too. And, while many have brushed it off as a humorous episode, many others have not. On Twitter, one well-known Brazilian TV journalist called Lochte a liar, an idiot, and a coward. Some Brazilians, not unreasonably, accused the swimmers of undermining Brazil’s international reputation. But the intensity of the reactions—both official and unofficial—also points to a larger cultural peculiarity. It has long been common for Brazilians to obsess over what the developed world thinks of them. Even when the Olympics aren’t on, the local media constantly run stories about what U.S. and European outlets are saying about Brazil. Lochte unwittingly touched the third rail of Brazilian national identity.
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