• 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
  • [ March 16, 2026 ] Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes Sells Off Iconic Green Spaces [REFERENCE] #InterventionWatch
  • [ March 13, 2026 ] Eight Years Without Marielle: Marielle Franco Case Revives Faith in Punishing the Guilty [OPINION] #MarielleLegacy
  • [ March 11, 2026 ] In Print and Online, ‘Fala Roça’ Newspaper Is a Comprehensive Tool for Citizenship in Rocinha, Brazil’s Largest Favela #CommunityMedia
  • [ March 5, 2026 ] ‘Valongo’s New Blacks Cemetery’ Trilogy Reveals Deep Roots of Structural Racism and Urban Inequality in Rio [BOOK REVIEW] *Highlight
  • [ February 28, 2026 ] Meet the CIEPs: In Rio de Janeiro, An Ahead-of-Its-Time Education Policy Turns 40 Having Resisted Decades of Dismantling *Highlight
HomeDrug Traffic

Drug Traffic

*Highlight

Vigilante Militias Spread Across Rio de Janeiro: Homicides in the West Zone Increase by 44% Highlighting a New Criminal Landscape Where Drug Traffickers and Militias Collide

By Joaquim da Silva • Translation by Aaron Scott • April 29, 2024

Clique aqui para Português The phenomenon of police officers operating outside the law and organizing armed groups in Rio de Janeiro is not a recent one, with records dating back to at least the 1950s. […]

#UPPWatch

Militia Control Over Internet in the Divided City: The Tragic Situation of Workers Who Depend on the Internet in Rio de Janeiro’s Peripheries

By Joaquim da Silva • Translation by Aaron Scott • April 20, 2024

Clique aqui para Português At 3:27pm on January 17, 2023, Maria* lost her Internet connection at home in Piedade, situated between the neighborhoods of Méier and Madureira in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. […]

#CommunityMedia

Questionable State of Brazilian Democracy Threatens Freedom of Speech, Journalist Safety and Election Coverage in the Favelas

By Tatiana Lima • Translation by Ethan Kaimana • September 9, 2022

Click here for Portuguese This article is part of a series created in partnership with the Center for Critical Studies in Language, Education, and Society (NECLES), at the Fluminense Federal University (UFF), to produce articles to be […]

*Highlight

‘Pacified’ Film Emphasizes Human Relationships but Repeats Clichés About Drug Trafficking in Favelas [REVIEW]

By Rafael Lopes • Translation by Zaira Apolinario Chaplin • August 30, 2022

Clique aqui para Português Right away, the title of the movie Pacified grabs your attention. It’s difficult for those who experienced the setting up of the Pacifying Police Units (UPP), from 2008 onwards in the […]

#InterventionWatch

‘Integrated City?!’ New Year, Same Old Politics

By Julio Santos Filho • Translation by Trisha Ponti • May 13, 2022

Clique aqui para Português This article is part of RioOnWatch’s #VoicesFromSocialMedia series, which compiles perspectives posted on social media by favela residents and activists about events and societal themes that arise. For the Jacarezinho favela, in Rio […]

Posts pagination

1 2 … 24 »

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