(14 Nov 2017) As authorities in Brazil tackled crime earlier this decade, opening Rio de Janeiro's hillside favelas to tourists seemed like a winning idea.
The views are breathtaking, the favela residents could cash in, and foreign visitors would see another part of the city - not just Copacabana beach.
But soaring violence in the hillside communities has rekindled a concern: Are favelas safe to visit?
Most famously depicted in the Oscar-nominated movie "City of God," Rio's favelas have long been known for drugs and crime.
But the clusters of makeshift housing that run up Rio's hillsides are also the birthplace of the city's Carnival parade, samba music and street art.
As part of preparations that began in 2008 for hosting the Olympic Games, authorities pushed to make these once no-go areas safer by targeting ruling drug gangs.
Amid a national economic crisis that has exacerbated deep inequality and resulted in funding cuts for security forces, however, authorities admit they have again lost control of most favelas they once said had been "pacified."
"The question is very complex to simply say if it is safe or not," said Marcelo Armstrong, who has been taking tourists to favelas for 25 years.
"Depends where, depends what day, depends what circumstance. That's the reality of Rio now."
This year, Rio has seen an estimated average of 15 shootings a day involving police and heavily armed gangs.
Hundreds of civilians, many of whom are residents of the favelas, have been killed or wounded in the crossfire.
A study conducted by the country's National Confederation of Commerce and Tourism showed that the increase in crime was responsible for a loss of 200 million US dollars to Rio's tourism sector between January and August of this year.
In 2015, Rio made 5 billion US dollars from tourism.
While tourists have occasionally been shot after accidentally veering into favelas, the death of a Spanish tourist at the hands of police shone a spotlight on insecurity in Rio and its favela.
In October, police opened fire on the car that was carrying Maria Esperanza Jimenez Ruiz and her relatives as they left the city's most populous favela, Rocinha, which has been at the centre of a bloody battle between rival gangs and authorities.
The group had been on a walking tour of the neighbourhood.
Two police officers are being investigated on suspicion of manslaughter, and authorities have announced they will press criminal charges against a tour guide and agency for failing to inform the tourists of the risks involved in visiting the favela.
Tour guides do not currently have access to official police bulletins and instead rely on news reports and local favela guides to evaluate if a favela is safe.
In response to the shooting, tourism and security authorities have created a committee to regulate tourism in favelas.
Armstrong, the favela tour guide, said he worries authorities are transferring the blame for the tourist's death from the police to the tourism sector.
Just days after the Spanish tourist was killed, Fabrice Febbraio, a tourist from the France, went on Armstrong's tour in Vila Canoas, a favela which borders the elite Gavea Golf Club.
"People say the favelas were dangerous, that we shouldn't visit," said Febbraio who was visiting Rio for the first time.
"Maybe some favelas are dangerous but the favela we visited today (Vila Canoas) did not make us feel unsafe."
Part of the 25 US dollars per person charge goes to two charity-run schools in the favelas.
For many favela residents, tourism is a lifeline in neighbourhoods where formal jobs are scarce.
The clients demurred.
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