RioOnWatch – community reporting on Rio

Brazil on Fire—From Forests to Cities, Including Rio de Janeiro: A 104% Dry Season Surge in Fires Since 2023 Marks a Clear Climate Crisis Tipping Point Say #VoicesFromSocialMedia

Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the Digital Brazil Project on environmental justice in the […]

Rio de Janeiro Hosts 1st ‘Sustainable Favela Festival Festival’ Bringing Together 100 Activities from 90 Favelas—Open to All and Free of Charge [RELEASE]

By Sustainable Favela Network • Translation by Staff • October 16, 2024

Clique aqui para Português 100 ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING PERFORMANCES, WORKSHOPS FOR ALL AGES, DISCUSSION CIRCLES, FILMS, EXHIBITIONS, BOOTHS, FAIR, AND THERAPIES, SPREAD ACROSS 6 DIFFERENT SPACES AT RIO’S ICONIC DOWNTOWN FUNDIÇÃO PROGRESSO. This Saturday, October 19, […]

Violence Is Literally Sickening: A Mother’s Testimony Corroborates Research Showing That Police Violence and the Denial of the Right to Grieve Cause Physical and Mental Illness in Brazil

By Ramon Vellasco • Translation by Fred Hanson • October 15, 2024

Clique aqui para Português “There are days when we just want to cry, to stay in bed, and not speak to anyone because we don’t have our children to hug anymore.” — Gilsara Mendes, mother […]

Eduardo Paes Re-Elected Mayor of Rio de Janeiro With a Governing Majority; Five Favela City Councillors Elected

By Fabio Leon, Julio Santos Filho • Translation by Staff • October 14, 2024

Clique aqui para Português On Sunday, October 6, Eduardo Paes, of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), was re-elected mayor of Rio de Janeiro for his fourth term, this time with Eduardo Cavaliere, from the same […]

What Are the Impacts of Rio de Janeiro’s New ‘Maravalley’ Technology Hub on the Favelas of the Historic Port Region?

By Igor Soares • Translation by Maria Fernanda Godinho • October 13, 2024

Clique aqui para Português The mayor of Rio de Janeiro aims to transform the city’s Port Region into a technology hub. Newly reelected, Eduardo Paes plans to turn the area into a hotspot for high-tech and […]

In Rio de Janeiro, Favela Residents in Complexo do Alemão Create a Popular Action Plan, Highlighting a Path for Representation in the City

By Juliana Neris • Translation by Kincaid Cummings • October 6, 2024

Clique aqui para Português In a political context that has historically marginalized and ignored the demands of favelas, an initiative like the Complexo do Alemão Popular Action Plan—designed, led, and conducted by the residents of […]

Brazilian Government Formally Recognizes ‘Favelas and Urban Communities’ As the Official Term for Informal Settlements Nationwide

By Carmen Nery, IBGE press release, Vinícius Britto, IBGE press release • Translation by Hannah McKenzie • January 31, 2024

Clique aqui para Português For the original press release in Portuguese, published by Brazil’s census bureau, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), click here. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) is […]

RIP ‘Subnormal Agglomerations,’ Part 3: Peripheral Epistemology in the Design of the Census and Presentation of a New Nomenclature

By Julio Santos Filho • Translation by Nathan Bergrin • November 10, 2023

Clique aqui para Português This is the final article in a series of three about how Brazil’s census bureau, IBGE, held an unprecedented week-long workshop to debate how to change the term “subnormal agglomeration” used […]

RIP ‘Subnormal Agglomerations,’ Part 2: Housing Rights and Favela Stigma in the Official Nomenclature

By Julio Santos Filho • Translation by Nathan Bergrin • November 9, 2023

Clique aqui para Português This is the second article in a series of three about how Brazil’s census bureau, IBGE, held an unprecedented week-long workshop to debate how to change the term “subnormal agglomeration” used […]

Get to Know Candidates from Favelas for Rio de Janeiro’s City Council

By Bárbara Dias • Translation by Kincaid Cummings • October 3, 2024

Clique aqui para Português The city of Rio de Janeiro has 5,009,373 registered voters, according to data from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), out of an estimated 6,211,223 people, based on the 2022 national census. […]

Meet Rio de Janeiro’s 2024 Mayoral Candidates

By Janaina Tavares • Translation by Vasti Cruz • October 2, 2024

Clique aqui para Português In 2024, seven men and two women are running for mayor of Rio de Janeiro from nine of Brazil’s several dozen political parties. Only one male candidate self-identifies as Black, reflecting […]

Get to Know Popular Demands for Brazil’s National Urban Policy, Defined During Rio de Janeiro’s 5th Municipal Conference on Cities

By Guilherme Rodrigues Barbosa • Translation by Vasti Cruz • September 30, 2024

Clique aqui para Português On June 29 and 30, 2024, Porto Maravalley, in Rio de Janeiro’s downtown Port Region, hosted the 5th Municipal Conference on Cities, one of the stages of the 6th National Conference on […]

Powerful Afro-Brazilian Cultural Event ‘Pedreira de Xangô in Serrinha’ Celebrates 80 Years [IMAGES]

By Rhuan Gonçalves • Translation by Staff • September 30, 2024

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 […]

Black Brazilian Women Take Gold at the 2024 Olympic Games, Part 2: Community and Public Investments Take Favelas to the Olympics, With or Without Medals

By Julio Santos Filho • Translation by Kincaid Cummings • August 31, 2024

Clique aqui para Português This is Part 2 of a two-part article on the achievements of representation for Black Brazilian women at the 2024 Olympics. The Olympic achievements of Beatriz Souza, Rebeca Andrade, Ana Patrícia […]

Black Brazilian Women Take Gold at the 2024 Olympic Games, Part 1: Meet Beatriz Souza, Rebeca Andrade, Ana Patrícia, and Duda Lisboa

By Cleyton Santanna • Translation by Kincaid Cummings • August 30, 2024

Clique aqui para Português This is Part 1 of a two-part article on the achievements of representation for Black Brazilian women at the 2024 Olympics. The Olympic Games have a complicated and often harmful history […]

Violence Is Literally Sickening: A Mother’s Testimony Corroborates Research Showing That Police Violence and the Denial of the Right to Grieve Cause Physical and Mental Illness in Brazil

By Ramon Vellasco • Translation by Fred Hanson • October 15, 2024

Get to Know Candidates from Favelas for Rio de Janeiro’s City Council

By Bárbara Dias • Translation by Kincaid Cummings • October 3, 2024

Between Alleys and Lanes, Lesbian Memories and Casa Resistências: The Lives of Gay Women in Rio’s Maré Favela

By Dayana Gusmão • Translation by Vasti Cruz • August 9, 2024

Understanding Energy Justice and Efficiency in Rio’s Favelas [VIDEO]

By Jaqueline Suarez • Translation by Pilar Boyero • December 13, 2021

Watch the video that summarizes the Energy Justice and Efficiency Series with English subtitles here: Clique aqui para Português This article and the video above offer a summary and conclusion to the series ‘Energy […]

Pedra Branca and the Energy Dilemmas of Rio’s Urbanization: From Charcoal to Electricity

By Antonio Alonso, Iamni Torres Jager • Translation by Trisha Ponti • November 1, 2021

Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series on energy justice and efficiency in Rio’s favelas. It is also the latest contribution to our year-long reporting project, “Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas: Deconstructing […]

Energy That Comes From Waste: Biodigester Turns Sewage into Biogas in Vale Encantado Favela [VIDEO]

By Jaqueline Suarez • Translation by Saskia Wright • August 1, 2021

Clique aqui para Português This English subtitled documentary is the latest contribution to our series on energy justice and efficiency in Rio’s favelas. It is also part of a series created in partnership with […]

Get to Know Candidates from Favelas for Rio de Janeiro’s City Council

By Bárbara Dias • Translation by Kincaid Cummings • October 3, 2024

In Complexo da Maré, ‘Favela Climate Memory’ Exhibition Engages Youth from Ecoa Maré and the Institution’s College Prep Course

By Bárbara Dias • Translation by Nathan Bergrin • June 28, 2024

Clique aqui para Português The Favela Climate Memory Exhibition, organized by museums and memory projects associated with the Sustainable Favela Network (SFN)*, is currently being shown as part of World Environment Month, at the Center […]

Rio Favela Leaders Go to Brasília to Advocate for Clean and Just Energy

By Sustainable Favela Network • Translation by Ujwala Murthy • June 26, 2024

Clique aqui para Português From May 26-29, 2024, a delegation of 19 community organizers representing favelas across Rio de Janeiro with 1.2 million residents brought their demands for clean and just energy to federal policymakers […]

Between the Political Right and Left, I Choose the Quilombo! [OPINION]

By Jeferson Rodrigues • Translation by Sharonya Vadakattu • March 3, 2022

Clique aqui para Português This article is the latest contribution to our award-winning reporting project, Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas: Deconstructing Social Narratives About Racism in Rio de Janeiro. We hear about “right” and “left” all the time. […]

A Deeply Personal In-Depth Account of the Typical Racism of Domestic Work in Brazil

By Neuza Nascimento • Translation by Fred Hanson • February 28, 2022

Clique aqui para Português This article is the latest contribution to our award-winning reporting project, Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas: Deconstructing Social Narratives About Racism in Rio de Janeiro. This story, told by writer and former domestic worker […]

I Want To Read Black Authors: When Will We See Proper Representation in Brazilian Schools and Universities? [OPINION]

By Cynthia Rachel Pereira Lima • Translation by Carolyn Oliveira • February 25, 2022

Clique aqui para Português This is our latest article in a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the Digital Brazil Project on climate impacts and affirmative action in […]