Posts tagged participation
Voices of Vila Autódromo: Barrão, the Fisherman
May 16th
Paolo Roberto Ferreira Mezes, known by all as Barrão, moved to Vila Autódromo sixteen years ago. After learning to fish and dedicating himself to the craft, he brought his wife and two young children to the peaceful, lakeside favela in Rio’s West Zone to turn the craft into a living. He decided to swap his home in Vila Valqueire for his brother’s abandoned waterfront property in Vila Autódromo. That way, Barrão was able to fish from his own backyard. In the years following the move, Barrão and his wife welcomed two more children, and they began fostering a loyal client base More >
Life in the Favela: Public Security Debated in Maré
May 14th
“What is this ‘pacification’ that is coming?” challenged favela residents last Saturday May 11th at a debate on public security in Maré. For weeks, the group of communities has been undergoing daily raids by the BOPE (Special Operations Police Battalion) in a government effort to prepare the area for the installation of the Police Pacifying Units (UPPs). The process includes illegal searches of homes without individual warrants and operations involving helicopters and armored tanks.
“The discourse from the state and from the commercial media [surrounding pacification] is a big lie,” explained Gizele Martins, coordinator and journalist at Maré’s 13-year-old community newspaper O Cidadão. More >
Morar Carioca Stalled in 89 Favelas Before Construction Plans Finalized: The Case of Pica-Pau
May 2nd
Irenaldo, President of the Pica-Pau Residents' Association, strolls behind a cyclist on one of Pica-Pau's main streets.
Irenaldo Honório da Silva, president of the Pica-Pau Residents’ Association, is at a loss. The small favela where he has led community organizing efforts for over twenty years, slightly north of Maré along Avenida Brasil, has in the past eighteen months witnessed robust commitments to what will be the first large-scale public upgrades in its history, those from the municipal Morar Carioca program. Teams of architects, technical surveyors, and social scientists have visited, noting the locations of abandoned buildings that could be converted into schools and More >
Voices of Vila Autódromo: José Arimateia, the Baker
Apr 23rd
In 1986, the newlywed José Arimateia moved to Vila Autódromo to buy his first home and to start a family. He moved from his parents’ house in a neighboring community, Vila Sapê, though he was born in Paraíba. He and his wife, Maria das Dores Catanduba de Andrade, were the first of their families to move to Vila Autódromo, a small favela in Rio’s West Zone, which they chose for its safety and peacefulness. Now, 27 years later, their success and happiness have drawn a dozen family members to move to their beloved community.
When José first moved to Vila Autódromo, he More >
‘We’re Young, Black & from the Favela–We Want to Live’
Apr 15th
Following the recent North Zone UPP police killings of 21 year-old Aliélson Nogueira in Jacarezinho on April 4th and 16 year-old Mateus Oliveira Casé in Manguinhos on March 20th, favela residents, NGOs, community organizations and activists are coming together in a series of events to protest the disproportionate assassination of young, black favela residents by agents of the state. Beyond expressing their anger and indignation, the network, that includes the Rio de Janeiro Youth Forum, Forum Social de Manguinhos, Rede Contra Violência, Observatório de Favelas, Ocupa Alemão, Favela Não Se Cale, Apafunk, More >
