Mancha Negra

Lore & Background

In 1986, La Mancha Negra first appeared as a smudge 50-yards long on a highway between Caracas and its airport. It soon spread to cover as much as 8 miles of highway. The substance contracted and expanded with the weather, growing when hot and wet, shrinking when cold and dry. It seemed to prefer tunnels and uphill slopes outside the airport. Gummy in texture, it caused vehicles to crash or run off the road. In 1991, a group of experts consulted by President Carlos Andrés Pérez could not pinpoint the cause. 1,800 deaths were attributed to La Mancha Negra in the five years before 1992, and by then the stain had spread throughout Caracas. The government spent millions of dollars investigating, consulting experts in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. In 1994, the Ministry of Transport and Communications tried washing it away with pressurized water, scrubbing with detergents, and scraping away the top layer of roads, all to no avail. They then poured pulverized limestone over the stain, which worked temporarily but made the air unbreathable. In January 1996, the roads became slick again due to lack of maintenance, low rainfall, and poor vehicle conditions. Special cleaning equipment from Germany seemed to abate the phenomenon for several years, but La Mancha Negra reappeared in 2001 on several Caracas avenues.

In Their Own Story

No story elements for Mancha Negra exist in the source. The text describes a general atmosphere of violence during the 1995 'Battle of Pacaembu' involving Palmeiras and São Paulo FC, and details the murder of Moacir Bianchi (founder of Palmeiras' Mancha Verde) by the PCC in 2017, but it contains no specific incidents, matches, or events related to Flamengo's Mancha Negra.

Reader's Guide

La Mancha Negra has been described as an inch-thick, greasy, black blob with the consistency of chewed bubble gum, making roads 'slick as ice'. One report stated it was a mixture of used engine oil and highly corrosive brake fluid, but could not ascertain its origin. The most accepted theory is that it results from countless leaky, old cars spraying their fluids over the roadway. Other theories include raw sewage from nearby slums causing a chemical reaction, or oil seeping from sub-standard asphalt, but the Ministry of Transport and Communications stated the asphalt composition was not involved. The phenomenon has also been politicized: in 1992, allegations were made that political opponents spread oil on the roads to tarnish President Pérez; in 2001, chavista mayor Freddy Bernal claimed the opposition hired homeless people to spread it from plastic bags at night.

Did You Know?

• La Mancha Negra first appeared in 1986 as a 50-yard smudge on a highway between Caracas and its airport.
• 1,800 deaths were attributed to La Mancha Negra in the five years before 1992.
• The government tried spraying, scrubbing, scraping, and even pouring pulverized limestone to remove the substance.
• One report described La Mancha Negra as a mixture of used engine oil and highly corrosive brake fluid.