In order to build the Museum of Tomorrow, the city of Rio reallocated R$112.3 million originally destined for infrastructure projects in the favela Morro do Pinto. The newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo had access to the audit report from Rio’s City Hall on the Porto Maravilha project. According to the newspaper, the document – which was delivered to the Municipal Court of Auditors and to the Municipal Chamber – cites an addendum made in the contract with the Concessionaire Porto Novo PLC (which includes companies OAS, Odebrecht, and Carioca Christiani Nielsen) in April of 2012 for construction in the region.
“The auditor of the Urban Development Company of the Rio de Janeiro Port Area (CDURP) in the Porto Maravilha stated that nearly three quarters of the money allocated to fostering culture in the port region (R$89.9 million of a total of R$122.7 million), was invested in just two institutions: The Museum of Tomorrow and the Rio Art Museum (MAR),” the report affirms. On the other hand, the Instituto Pretos Novos (IPN), a space of memory for the African population in Brazil, received only R$355 thousand and now lacks the resources required to continue functioning. “The financial plan that created R$3.5 billion in CEPACs, however, intended for 3% of this money to be applied to fostering culture throughout the area.” When the report was published, an initiative to open a Commission for Parliamentary Inquiry (CPI) to investigate the port area revitalization process was making its way through Rio de Janeiro’s Legislative Assembly.