• 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
  • [ June 10, 2025 ] Groundbreaking Oral History Project—‘Favela Climate Memory’—Launches Final Exhibition, Fostering Emotional Connection Between Climate, Nature and Community [Video] Civil Society
  • [ June 7, 2025 ] ‘Being a Black Woman Running a Museum Means Facing the Past, Eye to Eye… It’s Reparation in Motion’: Sinara Rúbia’s Full Speech at Brazil’s 1st Seminar on Anti-Racist Museums *Highlight
  • [ June 5, 2025 ] ‘A Museology That Doesn’t Serve Life Serves No Purpose’: ‘Unconventional’ Favela Museums Lead First Seminar of Rio de Janeiro’s Social Museology Network *Highlight
  • [ June 2, 2025 ] A Product of the 2016 Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro the ‘Evictions Museum’ Unveils New Walking Tour, Reigniting Vila Autódromo’s History and Resistance [IMAGES] #EvictionsWatch
  • [ 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 *Highlight
HomePacifying Police Unit (UPP)

Pacifying Police Unit (UPP)

#UPPWatch

‘Grief to Action’ Personified in ‘Cuca,’ Who Lost His Brother to Rio de Janeiro’s Infamous Police Brutality [PROFILE]

By Lucas Novello, Vinícius Ribeiro • Translation by Sylvia Schiller • February 26, 2025

Clique aqui para Português This article is part of RioOnWatch‘s series on Memories of Favela Power, which documents and celebrates the history of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas through narratives and reports from residents’ collective memory, in […]

#UPPWatch

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes Halts Tribute to Amarildo de Souza, Blocking Street Name Change in Rocinha

By Igor Soares, Rodrigo Silva • Translation by Kay Alvito • December 20, 2024

Clique aqui para Português For the original article by Igor Soares and Rodrigo Silva published in Fala Roça, click here. RioOnWatch translated this article to update our English-speaking audience on a critical story we covered […]

#CommunityMedia

The Challenges Faced by Community Journalists in the Largest Favela Complex of Rio de Janeiro’s Baixada Fluminense

By Fabio Leon • Translation by Staff • October 23, 2023

Clique aqui para Português Check out our complete series of community media profiles here. Complexo da Mangueirinha, in Duque de Caxias, is the largest cluster of favelas in Greater Rio de Janeiro’s Baixada Fluminense region. […]

#MediaWatch

The Criminal and the Vagrant: Brazilian Mass Media’s Bloody Discourse Defends White Privilege and Sentences Favelas [EDITORIAL]

By RioOnWatch Editorial • Translation by Angus Beazley • March 30, 2023

Clique aqui para Português Last year on June 22, veteran CNN Brasil commentator Boris Casoy gave his analysis of the pre-trial detention of Milton Ribeiro in Santos, São Paulo. Former education minister for then-president Jair […]

#EvictionsWatch

The Fate of Residents in Rio’s Skol Favela Illustrates How the Right to Housing is a Key Piece in Rio’s Political Game of Chess (Part 1)

By Tatiana Lima • Translation by Ujwala Murthy • October 24, 2022

Clique aqui para Português This is the first of a two-part article about the twelve-year struggle for housing by Favela da Skol residents, revealing Rio de Janeiro’s political backstage during an election year. The game […]

Posts pagination

1 2 … 65 »

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