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Latest News
  • [ July 23, 2026 ] Surf Legend Ricardo Bocão’s Enduring Legacy in Rocinha [OBITUARY] by Community Contributors
  • [ July 17, 2026 ] ‘Favela Tourism as Citizenship: Pathways to a Community-Based, Sustainable Model’ — Public Hearing Highlights the Potential of Community-Based Tourism in Rio de Janeiro by Community Contributors
  • [ July 16, 2026 ] In the Context of Climate Overshoot, ‘Cities Are the Crucible and Fire That Drive the Change We Need, and That Change Will be Realized Through Housing,’ Says IPCC Coordinating Lead Author *Highlight
  • [ July 14, 2026 ] ‘There Is No Climate Justice Without Adequate Housing,’ Argue Leaders at First Brazilian Housing and Climate Forum *Highlight
  • [ July 13, 2026 ] Rio de Janeiro’s ‘Milícias’—Vigilante, Off-Duty Police Gangs—Are Not a Parallel Power: They Are the State at Work [BOOK REVIEW] #UPPWatch
Homepolice corruption

police corruption

*Highlight

Violence in Rio: Security Expert Warns of Return to Old Policies of Confrontation [INTERVIEW]

By Júlia Dias Carneiro • Translation by Sarah Jacobs • March 29, 2019

Clique aqui para Português For the original article in Portuguese by Júlia Dias Carneiro published by BBC News Brasil click here. The backdrop in Rio: a shootout in broad daylight on Avenida Brasil left five injured; thirteen […]

*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 […]

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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.
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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.

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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
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  • Communities
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    • South Zone
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    • Greater Rio
  • Policies
    • Public Security
    • Housing
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    • 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
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    • Research & Analysis
    • Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
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    • Translated Articles
  • About
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