Manaus' Bid to be a Host City of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil

Interview granted to the consulting firm Deloitte for theGermany and South Africa and that is being applied in
magazine Mundo Corporativo regarding theits fullness in Manaus to show with clarity the qualities
preparation of Manaus for the World Cup 2014. that Manaus can offer the Cup. 
- What is the state of Amazonas doing to prepare- What would be the differential of the state in the
itself for the World Cup in 2014? Where are the maindispute with others?
efforts concentrated?The environmental aspect certainly differentiates us. In
Amazonas seeks to prepare itself for the future. The2002, we had deforestation of 1.550 km2; in 2007 it
World Cup is an event in this future that we seek. Wewas 753 km2, less than half. It is a tax of 0,05% per
have a series of actions of improvement ofyear, dramatically better than the rest of Brazil and
management in this direction, amongst which I will pointhistorically better for our state. We did this by a series
out:of governmental actions with an aim to value the uncut
1. Implementation of ISO 9000 in agencies of the Stateforest, which ranges from the establishing of minimum
Government, at a rate of 10 agencies per year.prices for sustainable products (such as rubber, oil
2. Professional conscription of managers for positionsof andiroba and copaíba, amongst others) to the
which require great reliability; searching for betterpayment of the Bolsa Floresta for families in the
qualifications and experience.countryside where there can be no identified
3. Variable remuneration of managers, initially indeforestation by satellite. The state has a clear
Education (we base the remuneration of directors ofstrategy of saying “no” to the growth of some
school off of the results of the school in the ENEM oneconomic segments as cattle, soy and sugarcane. We
the previous year, for example), followed by Publichave the conception that strategy requires saying
Security and Health.“no” to potential segments to focus on what we
4. Establishment of quotas of training for state server,want to be: a state of tourism, clean industry and
with year to year increments.energy, environmental services, use of natural
These efforts of the management already start toresources with technology and sustainability, and with a
show the first fruits, such as the advancement of thestrong economy of services.
state in the ENEM (it was the third largestMoreover, we have in Manaus the economic strength
improvement of grades of 2006 to 2007), in the areaof the state, with the third highest per capita GDP
of public security (reduction in the number of homicidesamongst Brazilian capitals, and with low indices of
of 2006 to 2007), in health (reduction in the number ofcrime. It is a cosmopolitan city, with direct flights to five
cases of malaria by more than 40% of 2006 to 2007)countries (U.S.A., Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and
and in collections (that have practically folded betweenEcuador), with reputable festivals (of Jazz, Cinema,
2002 and 2007.) These advances prepare the stateOpera and Theater beyond the Boi-Bumba in Parintins)
for imminent challenges, of which include the Worldand enormous cultural diversity (from the Japanese, to
Cup.the people from the state of Ceará of the Rubber
This increase in collection, which to a large extent hadBattle, to aboriginal peoples, to the English, Arabs and
been due to the good performance of the industrialJews of the rubber circle, amongst many other
pole region of Manaus and the combat against thepeoples.)
evasion of taxes by the Secretaria da Fazenda (tax- Some specialists affirm that one of the main
collecting agency), has been allowing the State plentyquestions is to plan the after-Cup, that is to say, to
of investment in some priority sectors such asmake sure that investments made in infrastructure are
sanitation. Manaus was a city cut by several smalleconomically viable - for companies and governments
rivers, on which thousands lived without infrastructure,- and used to benefit the population. In the case of
amongst filth and disease. The project of sanitationAmazonas, what is the best way to carry out this
and cleanliness of these rivers, that had alreadytask? How can or must this be done? Do you
changed this aspect of the city, should be concluded inremember any positive example, in Brazil or
2012, opening new ways of transport in the city (withinternationally?
streets along the rivers) and providing better livingSome of the investments we will need to execute will
conditions. Also we have important advancements inhave long lasting impacts, such as a possible surface
Science and Technology, with the state investment inmetro system. Other investments are directed to back
the northern region being larger than the investment ofthe event, such as the designing of the Stadium and
the CNPq. The countryside of Amazonas is thecomplex, with public areas for entertainment. The
poorest area of the state, but today we have 15 arequisites of FIFA make many demands that, if to think
thousand students in the countryside in superiorproperly, we would eventually have to make
courses through the State University of Amazonas;regardless, then one of the important impacts is
this is equivalent to almost 1% of the population wherespeeding up the implementation of improvements and,
today not even 0.5% have had university instruction.why not, of the future. Our focus today, 6 years
Finally, today we have the assessments of Deloitte inbefore the Cup, is in the investments that are
assisting with the crafting of plans that take care ofindependent from the Cup, but that are essential for its
the enormous amount of requirements of FIFA, joiningexecution. Today, we are working with the team of
all the efforts of the state in the direction of showingDeloitte to identify other investments we can pursue in
to FIFA, to the Ministry of the Sports, CBF and Brazilsuch a way to meet the requirements of the FIFA as
as a whole the merit of Manaus as one of thewell as improve the living conditions in Amazonas.
headquarters. Deloitte has the experience acquired in