• 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
    • Book Reviews
    • Film Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
  • Donate
Latest News
  • [ May 24, 2025 ] The Story Behind Brazil’s First Favela Museum—The Maré Museum—Started With a Community Network and Oral Histories in the 1990s by Community Contributors
  • [ May 22, 2025 ] From Local Conferences to COPs, Decision-Making on Climate Excludes Those Who Hold Critical Knowledge and Are Most Impacted: Indigenous Peoples and Informal Settlements [OPINION] *Highlight
  • [ May 16, 2025 ] Rio’s New ‘Extreme Rainfall Vulnerability Index’, Rio 60ºC, Shows 600,000 Homes at High Risk of Landslides or Flooding *Highlight
  • [ May 9, 2025 ] ‘Trash? Not to Us!’ Environmental Action in Rio Public Housing Complex Denounces Municipal Neglect and Proposes Waste Collection as a Source of Income by Community Contributors
  • [ April 30, 2025 ] Sustainable Favela Network Launches Groundbreaking ‘Favela Climate Memory’ Exhibition on May 3, Kicking Off Museums Month [RELEASE] *Highlight
Homepolice corruption

police corruption

*Highlight

‘In Rio de Janeiro, the Militia Isn’t a Parallel Power. It’s the Government.’ [INTERVIEW]

By Mariana Simões • Translation by Gabriel Martins • March 12, 2019

Clique aqui para Português For the original article in Portuguese by Mariana Simões published by Agência Pública click here. In the following interview, a sociologist who has studied Rio de Janeiro’s [vigilante off-duty police] militias for 26 […]

*Highlight

‘Our Dead Have a Voice’ Documentary Tackles State-Sponsored Violence in the Baixada

By Edmund Ruge • April 5, 2018

Clique aqui para Português In late March 2005, state Military Police gunned down 29 people in the neighborhoods of Queimados and Nova Iguaçu, in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region of Baixada Fluminense, in what […]

Nem after his arrest in 2011. Photo by A/A Beatriz / Reuters
#InterventionWatch

‘I Don’t Regret Being a Drug Trafficker. What Would You Do In My Place?’ – Rocinha’s Nem

By Gil Alessi • Translation by Cheyne Bull • April 2, 2018

Clique aqui para Português For the original article in Portuguese by Gil Alessi published by EL PAÍS click here. “E2 pawn to E4,” shouts Antônio Bonfim Lopes, 41, from his seven-square-meter cell at the Porto […]

*Highlight

Brazil: Institutional Racism in the Legal System and the Rafael Braga and Ogo Alves Cases

By Luisa Fenizola • Translation by Desirée Poets • August 9, 2017

Clique aqui para Português Rafael Braga was detained during the 2013 demonstrations for carrying a bottle of Pinho Sol disinfectant, and again in early 2016, a month after being released to serve his sentence in […]

Civil Society

Day 1: Second Annual ‘Black July’ Begins in Rio, Building on Last Year’s Visit by Black Lives Matter

By Emilia Sens • July 19, 2017

Clique aqui para Português This week marks the second annual Black July, following a series of events one year ago when Black Lives Matter activists visited with organizers in Rio de Janeiro. The series of […]

Posts pagination

« 1 2 3 … 7 »

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
    • Book Reviews
    • Film Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
  • Donate

© 2025 Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International