Brazil Museum Fire Leaves Ashes, Recrimination and Little Else

The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro is responsible for the museum that is funded by the Brazilian government. The University has autonomy and decides where the money goes. It seems that most of the money is used to pay for the salaries of the employees and directors. Brazilian citizens have the right to know how much the museum gets and how it is spent! Negligence, ignorance, incompetence, corruption, corruption, corruption! Two hundred years of work research and knowledge were lost.

The financial problems in Greece and Turkey are just as problematical for protecting their cultural treasures in those countries. Sad.

A textbook case of why precious ancient and other historical artifacts should not necessarily be repatriated to their homeland. Because some homelands are incapable of safeguarding not only the heritage of their own country, but others, as well.

Perhaps the greatest loss is of the ornithology collection. Brazil has the greatest diversity of birds in the world. This museum held the only remains of many extinct species. Their DNA is now lost in the ashes.

I went there back in 2003. It's loss is really a tragedy. For Brazil, and really that whole part of the world, it is akin to Library of Alexandria burning down.

Maybe they can make a nice automobile car wash/incinerator out of that building, Put a big sign out front saying “; then, they’ll get rid of all their ground level pollution problems from old automobiles… or is that. Mexico, Cuba, Central America, or any average Third World country like CALIFORNIA (how about my backyard, fer instance !)

What a tragic loss for the entire world....the saddest part is that it did not have to happen. Where did the money go? World treasures are lost forever. Money for pro sports but nothing for arts/culture/science? This is very twisted.

There always seems to be a lot of howling when a museum modernizes and builds a new, safe, modern building. There is a similar amount of moaning that "it costs too much" to properly renovate and retrofit these grande and "character-filled" older buildings with modern fire safety code design, doors, roofs, equipment, etc. The reality is that these older buildings are often firetraps when not modified for the modern world and risk the lives and fortunes contained inside.

Lit paper lanterns as well as balloons released into the are are a scourge. The are fire and environmental dangers. There should be a world-wide ban.

So very sad. Not just the loss of countless historical treasures...but to see the collapse of a country. I hope they can right the ship somehow.

seems to me the most likely explanation is that a small fire purposely set to cover up theft(s) quickly turned into a large blaze.

Didn’t Brazil spend untold billions hosting an Olympics recently? And they couldn’t spare a few dollars to insure their most important national treasures were protected. Competitive sports always seem to syphon the air out of the room. Dominating the news media with trivia, building gigantic stadiums at public expense and misleading youth about education and heath.

When corruption is so apparent and inequity so harmful, why don't people appear at the homes of those few and protest? Why is it hard for Brazilians to organize in the neighborhoods and speak for themselves to demand services be funded? Would ordinary citizens be killed for doing what they should do in a democracy. Maybe I should ask whether or not Brazil IS a Democracy?

I have often thought it was dangerous to have so many important items in a single place.

Tremendous loss for all of the Americas. Shows you where bad government and corruption will lead a society. The real tragedy is that Brazil, Venezuela too, are incredibly rich countries by resources, but real wealth lies elsewhere, educated population, ethics, order, and good government. Compare Scandinavia as an example, or Switzerland; equitable societies and wealth beyond Brazil's imagination, but fewer resources. Can you wake up, Brazil, and get the message. And can we, America, stem the flow of wealth only, for the two percent?

Heartbreaking. Pompeii. The earliest skeleton in the Americas. Art. These are the things that grab people's hearts and souls. Our country, the U.S., is on this path. Profound greed and corruption led by men who have no understanding of the deep, deep beauty of history rape the government of it's decency as has been done in Brazil. We can only hope that some of the very wealthy will help us gain perspective in a world where we must fight to protect nature and art while the powerful save a buck by not installing sprinklers. Bless the Brazilians and may they find peace.

I am of Portuguese heritage, and I am also outraged. Besides the building itself, the museum collection had countless priceless artifacts that were donated by João VI, king of Portugal, when Brazil was still a colony. It is also an important part of Portugal's history that went up in flames. Just think of it, the independence of Brazil was signed there. It is not mentioned here, but the princess that championed the end of slavery in Brazil was born there. My gosh! It is absolutely unacceptable that the building had no sprinkler system. I am very sad and upset!

What hubris we humans have. While leaders around the Earth (including ours) are rewriting history, reality and truth as they see fit, we are somehow to be concerned when a nation sees no value to preserving its past. It seems to me the nations of the Earth have far greater problems to be concerned about than some thousands of year old skull. Humankind after evolving out of the oceans for the last 500 million years is now sitting on the edge of extinction and most humans don’t know and fewer care. Geological speaking soon all of us will be gone back to the stardust of which we are made. Even the pyramids will wear away to sand.

No surprises here, none at all. Brazil is the country of "improvisation", everything, always at the last minute. There are a couple of words that have no clear cut translation in Portuguese: accountability and expeditious. Some will probably define them in a flourish manner full of a nonsensical and a dubious salad of words that will leave you more confused than before. Why is this critical? I believe in the power of semantics. Think about it: expeditious involves efficiency coupled with speed, and accountability means ... well, what NOBODY will find regarding the fire. Everything here is "waiting for the last minute" and after the catastrophe starts the BLAME GAME. The Brazilian blame game is infinite. Even when you think that you find culprits, doubt, innuendo, and conspiratorial forces start yet a series of more and more games. Check for example the attempts to allow the ex-president Lula to become a candidate of the next elections. The inmate is locked after a fair trial for convoluted and protracted corruption. Where in the planet somebody in jail can be considered a viable candidate to anything other than finish their prison time? Will it change? Never. The lethal mix of permissiveness, impunity and corruption are endemic here, at all levels. On top, the museum was sitting on an area that was subjected to speculation and the $21 million Reals needed for the structure reform was being delayed for decades. Smells strange....

It is unconscionable that in this day and age this museum was not better protected from fire. It is indeed a sign of the decay of Brazil’s government. One must know where one has been in order to know where one is going. That is the purpose of history and museums. Yet Brazil spent millions on temporary stadiums for the Olympics while their National Museum sat in decay.

The director of the museum should be fired and never hired for a position of trust and responsibility again. A decade ago, an American nuclear submarine crashed into an uncharted underwater mountain. The Captain was court marshalled and forced out of the Navy. The fact that the mountain was uncharted didn't matter. You are not allowed to crash nuclear submarines. There are no excuses. The same should be true for museums. You are not allowed to have your museum burn to the ground. There can be no excuses. We need to bring accountability back for managers of all government institutions. This is not just a Brazil problem, it is a world wide problem.

There is certainly plenty of blame to go around. However, I'm sure the museum mangers knew it was a fire trap, so why wasn't an item as valuable and unique as the oldest human skeleton from the Americas moved to a safe place? Could it have been a bargaining chip?

There were official reports warning this would happen 12 years ago. It should case all peoples to re-evaluate the potential safety of places they donate to.

Luzia was probably stolen before the fire. In her original place at the museum was a replica. The other possible location of the skull, was empty!!!! Where is Luzia?

It's a devastating and irreplaceable loss. Shows how bad things have gotten in Brazil, a country with so much potential which never materialises because of the self-serving, greedy and corrupt politicians which by the way people keep on re-electing (for years people re-elected a notoriously corrupt politician, Maluf, saying that even though he was a thief, he did some things - 'rouba, mas faz'). Just to make things worse, now we have an ex-president who is in jail for corruption and an empty, fascist demagogue who glorifies torturers from the dictatorship and who has no policies, as frontrunners for the presidency. It's so sad to see, even from afar, this terrible tragedy that such a beautiful, interesting and fun country has become due to the corruption, the huge levels of violence, mismanagement, greed and self interest...

A terrible fire like this can happen anywhere. My sympathies to Brazilians who have lost a wonderful collection of treasures. But the way it was handled brings up many questions. Why was there no fire suppression system in the building? Why were there no fire doors that would automatically shut and contain the fire to one section only? Why did the fire hydrants nearby not work properly? Were there no guards inside the museum after hours? These factors made the disaster much worse and expose Brazil as a backward and chaotic country. The opposite message that the government and business sector have been trying to project for decades. Many of the antiquities that were lost came from international sources, it was world heritage. The Brazilians messed up. Let's see how those in charge handle the aftermath and the restoration.

In some countries, cherished institutions as well as vital infrastructure go unfunded because of lack of wherewithal due to corruption; the money has found its way into bureaucrats' pockets. In other countries, neglect is a result of a certain kind of political thinking: Government funding is unnecessary, unworthy of the pioneering spirit. Need a better road? Go out and get some asphalt. Keep the government out of it! Want a museum? Go volunteer. Museums aren't the responsibility of government. No new taxes! But then, who needs museums when you have a shooting range? It all comes out the same.

Exhibit #1 as to why priceless objects should not be returned to third world countries. The risk of fire, war, and theft are too great. I am appalled that this building had no sprinkler system. Such systems are about 100% effective.

Yes, the government corruption in Brazil is horrible, and yet Brazilians continue to vote for the same party that has been governing in Brazil for the past 15 plus years (in Brazil voting is compulsory). The party of Lula, one of the former presidents of Brazil, is the most corrupt political party the country has ever faced. The problems in Brazil can be solved if the population start to use it's voting power wisely.

Indeed, a sad story. I took in those two highlights of Brazil's recent golden moments - the World Cup and the Olympics. The Olympics were definitely the better of the two. Rio did an outstanding job - transportation and facilities. Though it was clear that they had either run out if money is funds had disappeared as the Olympic Parks were basically a huge concrete lot - unlike London's most beautiful Olympic park. The World Cup outside of Rio and Sao Paulo was telling that a lot of money had been wasted. I was in Salvador, Recife and Natal - besides Rio and Sao Paulo. In these north eastern cities, despite games being played, airports were still works in progress. I forget which airport now- but I am not kidding, the World Cup souvenir shop was still getting completed when only two more games were to be played. Several roads to nowhere were under construction. In Recife, it rained so hard that when USA played Germany - many fans including myself could not even make it to the stadium. So, it was definitely a telling moment that perhaps - not everything was ok.

Hmmm...a refusal to invest in basic government services, a big deficit, crumbling or ignored infrastructure: Sounds like the US in a decade if this current batch of GOP elected officials keeps at it.

This was the largest museum of natural history in Latin America and functioned as a research facility for Rio's Federal University. Located in a poor part of the city, it was neglected while the shiny new Museum of Tomorrow (already an anachronism) and now-unused soccer stadiums were built. The minister of the "Secretaria de Governo", Carlos Marun has characterized the fire as a "fatality" and dismissed criticisms of government neglect as "a lot of widows crying".

Saudades! This is a heartbreaking loss. Rio is a wonderful and complex place. I hope all the fat cats swishing around in their furs when the winter temps drop into the 50s are proud of what they’ve wrought. Corruption permeates every single level of life there and this is on these rent-seekers who have no allegiance to the greater good EVER. However, I have no idea how you change a culture when corruption is baked in to the degree it is.

Sounds like a horrible place to live regardless of this fire. The country, and its infrastructure, have broken down to an unacceptable level. Time to think of getting out.

Sad, sad, sad. How could those directly responsible for the museum as well as the federal government let it decay into the state of disrepair that allowed the fire to do such extensive damage? Were they counting on luck, perhaps, crossing their fingers and hoping this tragedy would never happen? Unfortunately, this is the way everything related to culture and education is treated in this country - with utmost neglect.

A real tragedy for both the people of Brazil and for the entire world. The items that were lost due to the fire will be irreplaceable and are part of the human story in South America. A sad day for all of us.

Neglect and corruption have left the cultural institutions in Brasil in total disrepair. Philanthropy is non existant to cover museum deficits. It is criminal!