• English
  • Português
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
RioOnWatch
  • Home
    • Highlighted Stories
    • Understanding Rio
    • Reference Articles
  • Communities
    • Central
    • South Zone
    • North Zone
    • West Zone
    • Greater Rio
  • Policies
    • Public Security
    • Housing
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Health
    • Sanitation
  • Violations
    • Human Rights
    • Housing Rights
    • Police Violence
    • Government Neglect
  • Organizing
    • Community Organizing
    • Community Solution
    • Resistance
    • Sustainability
    • Participation
    • Protest
    • Culture
    • Responsible Tourism
  • Content Map
    • by Community Contributors
    • by Int’l Observers
    • Series
      • Anti-Racist Series
      • Energy Justice Series
    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
    • Photo-Essays
    • Interviews/Profiles
    • Research & Analysis
    • Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
  • Donate
Latest News
  • [ May 15, 2026 ] Complex and Intelligent, the Favela Has Its Own Geography Favela Qualities
  • [ May 14, 2026 ] ‘This Is Where My Life Began:’ Residents of Santa Teresa Occupation Claim Right to Stay in Talks With Federal Heritage Secretariat #EvictionsWatch
  • [ May 13, 2026 ] 10 Years After Rio’s Most Notorious Pre-Olympic Forced Eviction, Women-Led Collective Action Preserves the Memory of Vila Autódromo #LegacyWatch
  • [ May 9, 2026 ] Data Centers, AI and the Social Costs for Rio de Janeiro: What Does It Mean in Practice to Become a Big Tech Hub? [EDITORIAL] #LegacyWatch
  • [ April 28, 2026 ] The Who and Why of Sustainability: Without Retraining, Waste Pickers Have Been on Losing End of Greenwashing 14 Years After Closing of ‘Waste Land’ Dump *Highlight
HomeOpinion

Opinion

Photo by André Fernandes / ANF
#ParticipationWatch

Unit to Potentialize the Poor: The New Utopian UPP

By Cléber Araujo • Translation by Alice Lupton • September 9, 2015

Clique aqui para Português For the original in Portuguese by Cléber Araujo, resident of Complexo do Alemão, published in Agência de Notícias da Favela, click here. This is a satirical piece. After various meetings and revisions given the countless […]

#CommunityMedia

Fed Up! A Message from the Favela to the World, by Alemão’s Raull Santiago

By Raull Santiago • Translation by Amanda Bradshaw • July 15, 2015

Clique aqui para Português The original text was published in Portuguese by community reporter and activist Raull Santiago, on his Facebook page following the announcement that the UPP police will set up armored police stations from which they […]

by Community Contributors

Young People Deserve More: A Critique of Attempts to Reduce the Age of Criminal Responsiblity

By Alan Miranda • Translation by Cara D’Rosario • May 27, 2015

For the original in Portuguese, by Alan Miranda, published in Observatório de Favelas, click here. By the age of 16 in our society one can have a multitude of jobs, desires, possibilities and perspectives on life. At […]

by Community Contributors

I Was Fired Because I Dared to Leave the Slave Quarters

By Célio Gari • Translation by Emma Platais • May 21, 2015

For the original in Portuguese, by Célio Gari, published in Outras Palavras, click here. Many garis (trash collectors) have been persecuted after winning historic victories for their rights as workers. The City has dismantled leadership and favored subcontracting […]

#UPPWatch

The Favela Where I Live Is Bleeding

By Vitor Paz • Translation by Charlotte Livingstone • October 27, 2014

Clique aqui para Português Resident account on the state of violence in the community of Complexo do Alemão. Today I woke up reflecting on what is going on in my favela. I started to realize that […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 17 18 19 … 22 »

RioOnWatch’s anti-racist reporting series won silver in the 2022 inaugural The Anthem Awards, in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion category among Best Local Awareness Programs.
A Project of

About

In May 2010, Catalytic Communities launched what was originally Rio Olympics Neighborhood Watch (hence RioOnWatch), a program to bring visibility to favela community voices in the lead-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics. This news site, RioOnWatch.org, grew into a much-needed and unique reference featuring favela perspectives on the urban transformation of Rio. With diverse and deeply interlinked articles by a mix of community reporters, resident opinions, solidarity reporters, international observers, and academic researchers, we work to engender a more accurate picture of favelas, their contributions to the city, and the potential of favela-led community development in Rio and around the world.

Contact & Support

contact@rioonwatch.org
WhatsApp +55.21.991.976.444
USA VOIP +1.301.637.7360

Volunteer | Donate

10 Years! Check Out Our Story:

Awards

Special Thanks

Fundação Heinrich Böll Brasil
World Habitat
Fideicomiso de la Tierra Caño Martín Peña
Pastoral de Favelas
Center for CLT Innovation
Global Land Alliance
Ecocity Builders
Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation
SDSU Behner Stiefel Center
The Rio Times
Forum Grita Baixada
Beto Paixão Graphic Design
Architecture Museum of Vienna
Yale School of Architecture

  • Home
    • Highlighted Stories
    • Understanding Rio
    • Reference Articles
  • Communities
    • Central
    • South Zone
    • North Zone
    • West Zone
    • Greater Rio
  • Policies
    • Public Security
    • Housing
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Health
    • Sanitation
  • Violations
    • Human Rights
    • Housing Rights
    • Police Violence
    • Government Neglect
  • Organizing
    • Community Organizing
    • Community Solution
    • Resistance
    • Sustainability
    • Participation
    • Protest
    • Culture
    • Responsible Tourism
  • Content Map
    • by Community Contributors
    • by Int’l Observers
    • Series
      • Anti-Racist Series
      • Energy Justice Series
    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
    • Photo-Essays
    • Interviews/Profiles
    • Research & Analysis
    • Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
  • Donate

© 2026 Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International