Archive for October, 2012
Transcarioca: Irregularities and Evictions in Olympic Roadworks
Oct 31st
Transcarioca, in blue, will connect Rio's west zone with the international airport
Connecting Barra da Tijuca and the Olympic Park with the International Airport, the Transcarioca highway and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route is the most visible transport infrastructure work the city of Rio is undertaking in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Officials estimate that the 39km expressway and its 45 bus stations will serve 400,000 passengers per day and cut journey time between Barra and the airport by 60%. However, of the three BRT transport projects under construction – the others being the TransOeste linking far West Zone More >
Shrinking Inequality? Incomes of Blacks and Northeasterners Increase at Twice the Average Rate
Oct 26th
Click here for the original article, in Portuguese
The incomes of middle class (“Class C”) blacks and northeasterners have grown at twice the national average. Women in this group saw their incomes rise by 76%, and men’s incomes rose by 47%. 77% of men in Class C are sure their wives are hiding money.
Women's incomes increased more than men's. (File photo)
In the last ten years the incomes of blacks and northeasterners grew at twice the average rate for Class C, according to data from the study “Voices of Brazil” and from Data Popular. Between 2002 and 2012, the general growth rate for More >
Favelas and Speculation
Oct 23rd
Click here for original article in Portuguese.
According to estimates by the São Paulo Civil Defense, one person died and 300 were left homeless in the fire that swept through the Moinho favela on Monday, September 17. It was the seventh favela fire in the city in the last 40 days, and the 34th this year.
On September 3, another fire destroyed nearly 40% of the Sonia Ribeiro favela – known as Piolho Hill – which occupied an area of 12,000 square meters. The Civil Defense estimated that 1,440 people lost their homes in the fire. Prosecutors at the São Paulo bureau of More >
“We Know What’s Best for You” City Officials Tell Resident During Eviction Proceeding
Oct 22nd
A Babilonia couple that now owns two houses in the increasingly pricey Zona Sul favela may end up owning nothing, and all because they tried to follow the city’s ever changing rules.
In 2003, City authorities came up the Babilônia favela in Rio’s South Zone and told Rosemeri Silva Santos, 37, and her then husband Tião, 48, that their house was in an Environmentally Protected Area (APA), that they and their four children would be evicted, the house demolished, and they’d be given compensation to find a new home. A year went by and nothing happened. With their small house damaged by More >
Community Perspectives on the Occupation of Jacarezinho and Manguinhos
Oct 15th
In the early hours of Sunday morning, the favelas of Jacarezinho and Manguinhos were occupied by BOPE (Special Forces Battalion) assisted by Navy tanks, military police (PMs), civil police and Federal Highway Police aircraft in preparation for Police Pacifying Units (UPPs) to be installed in the next few months.
A pattern has emerged in the media coverage of government operations to take control of Rio’s larger drug gang run-favelas. Local coverage focuses squarely on the authorities: accompanying the police operation, reporting the size of the operation, quantities of drugs and arms recovered and the announcement of infrastructure developments to follow. International coverage frames the More >
