The grenade blasts product of the struggle between drug gangs resonate throughout Leblon, an enclave to the sea where the elite of the city lives. Even the governor's daughter recently was robbed at gunpoint on his doorstep.
When the new leader of Brazil, Michel Temer, took the reins of the nation this month (after a corrosive process to suspend President Dilma Rousseff, who faces impeachment), promised the beginning of "national salvation".
However, what Temer did not mention is that during most of the last decade his political party and its allies have exerted immense power here in the oil-rich state of Rio de Janeiro, and this place also needs someone who Hail.
In other words, analysts complain that the same party responsible for the chaos in Rio now is in command of the country.
"Rio is becoming a mini-Venezuela because its leaders are seeking new ways of squandering Brazil's largest oil boom," said Marcelo Portugal, a Brazilian economist.
State finances are muddled. Some athletes are so impressed with the bay infested sewage from the city of Rio that are calling for the Olympic regattas change of venue. Last month, a section of the new bike path that cost $ 12 million and extending elegantly along the coast (one of the improvements to the Olympic Games that highlighted in Rio) collapsed after being hit by a wave, prompting two men passed away.
"That's all we did not want to happen at this time," said Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, Temer party member. "It's not easy to host the Olympic Games with the environment currently lives in Brazil."
Rio leaders had promised that the Olympics would highlight the triumphs of Brazil. Instead, while Temer tries to give new life to the Brazilian economy, Rio stands as an example of what a government led by the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party could mean for the rest of the country.
Some of the most influential party leaders Temer (including Senate President and exportavoz of the Chamber of Deputies, which was suspended this month to face corruption charges) have been accused of accepting large bribes.
Besides the party, known as PMDB, it is also being targeted by allegations of misconduct and corruption related to the Olympic Games.
Some engineering managers have testified that Sergio Cabral, the former governor and member of the party, who helped to realize that the Olympic Games will be held in Rio and continues to exert considerable influence, asked million in bribes. It is said that these payments were equivalent to 5 percent of the cost of renovating the iconic Maracana soccer stadium and other public works projects.
Cabral is also under scrutiny for using state helicopters to bring their children, two nannies and your dog walk home on the beach.
"Politicians Rio are absolutely disgusting," said Leonardo Siqueira, provider cosmetics 37, and mentioned the cycle path that collapsed, scandals of corruption related to public works and streets are flooded with sewage during rain.
"Rio is in this crisis by the PMDB," said Siqueira. "They are politicians who govern first and foremost, for themselves and not for the citizens."
In a statement, Cabral said he had never accepted bribes and that his security advisers suggested he use public helicopters to prevent possible attacks by drug gangs
During the term of Cabral, Rio conducted a campaign of "pacification" which included increased police presence in the city, which sought to change its notorious reputation as the epicenter of crime in the country.
The strategy generated conflicting opinions and their effectiveness has been tested by a wave of crime including muggings, an increase in the homicide rate and a sudden rise and terrifying child killings by stray bullets. In a tragic episode, a one year old child was fatally shot while in a car seat this month.
There is also the financial crisis Rio, a reality despite revenue resulting from oil wells in deep waters off its coast. That underwater wealth helped accelerate the regional economy a few years ago thanks to legislation that gave access to state and local government to a huge amount of royalty payments.
Today, Brazil's oil industry is in the midst of a political storm. Petrobras, the national oil company headquartered in a huge building in the center of the city, reeling from alleged bribery scandals and low fuel prices.
Petrobras has fired tens of thousands of employees in the last two years, generating concern in other industries. The percentage of oil royalties plummeted this year to about one billion dollars compared with 3.5 billion in 2014.
Rio leaders say the fiscal crisis has forced them to delay payments of pensions to retired state employees. They also cut the education budget, which generated a teachers' strike and led students to seize more than a dozen schools to protest against the deplorable conditions in which they find themselves.
But there are also arguments in favor of the PMDB. For example, they have completed most of the venues of the Olympic Games. In the national context, Temer has appointed respected economists outside the party in important positions. In addition, some party leaders say they have made a "moderating force" to the tumultuous Brazilian democracy.
"The PMDB is a benchmark of governance," said Renan Calheiros, president of the Senate.
PMDB leaders in Rio, described themselves as defenders of private enterprise, they are adopting common policies in countries with leftist governments. In order to raise funds, for example, state leaders approved tax of almost 20 percent of oil production in the waters of Rio.
The opposition claims that in a time of low oil prices, this measure could destroy the oil industry in Rio. "This tax makes most projects are unviable Rio," said Antonio Guimarães, director of the Brazilian Association of Petroleum Producers.
Despite the discouraging projections, some in Rio resort to the history of resistance in the city.
Ruy Castro, writer 68, told the magazine Veja Rio had an "unparalleled ability to frustrate those who go against it."
Then added a pinch of skepticism: "We are good for the celebrations, not legacy," Castro said.
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