{"id":11466,"date":"2013-10-14T11:48:32","date_gmt":"2013-10-14T14:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=11466"},"modified":"2017-01-30T13:04:29","modified_gmt":"2017-01-30T16:04:29","slug":"rocinha-and-alemao-plan-to-sue-the-state-over-cable-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=11466","title":{"rendered":"Rocinha and Alem\u00e3o Plan to Sue the State Over Cable Car"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the original by Cl\u00e1udia Freitas in Portuguese\u00a0<\/em>for Jornal do Brasil click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Residents of both communities are against the construction and want continuity of Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) works<\/h2>\n

Star of an international soap opera and a new tourist point in Rio de Janeiro, the cable car<\/a> joining the favelas of Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a>, in the North Zone of the city, was designated as the \u2018flagship\u2019 for improvements promised by the state government to the pacified community, as part of Growth Acceleration Program (PAC<\/a>) and received some R$210 million in investment by both federal and state government. Two years after its inauguration on July 7, 2011, the Alem\u00e3o cable car is the target of criticism from residents; according to them, it does not meet the basic needs of mobility, social integration and improving their quality of life, as was suggested in the original project which was inspired by the model in the Colombian city of Medell\u00edn<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The unsuccessful experience is serving as an example to the community of Rocinha<\/a>, in the South Zone, destined to have the third cable car<\/a> in Rio. Representatives from Rocinha Sem Fronteiras<\/a> (Rocinha Without Borders) are promoting resistance actions against the planned installation of a cable car in the community. Allied with the Instituto Ra\u00edzes em Movimento<\/a>\u00a0from Alem\u00e3o, they will go to the Public Ministry presenting a case against Rio\u2019s government\u00a0denouncing the violation of human rights and arguing non-compliance with federal law 10.257, which requires public participation in decisions regarding government interventions, in the case of Alem\u00e3o, and for the non-execution of PAC-1 works in Rocinha.<\/p>\n

\u2018PAC and Sanitation\u2013Rocinha Case Studies\u2019 was the subject debated at the Urban Mobility Forum held by the Rio de Janeiro Engineers Club on September 20. Counselor of the club, Alceb\u00edades Fonseca, stated in his speech that looking at the Alem\u00e3o cable car it is easy to see that this type of transport is not viable for Rio communities as it does not provide a solution to mobility problems and has very high maintenance costs, since the machinery is imported from France. “Wheelchair users find no access when they arrive at the station for their journey. It\u2019s the same with residents carrying their shopping,” explained the engineer. As a comparison, Fonseca cited the funicular tram<\/a> in Santa Marta, which according to him would be a better option for Rocinha. “The system in Santa Marta<\/a> facilitates access for disabled people, allows for waste disposal and its construction is much cheaper, with a projected installation that corresponds to only 20% of the total value of the imported cable car project presented by the Rio government,” said Fonseca.<\/p>\n

The coordinator for the Instituto Ra\u00edzes em Movimento from Complexo do Alem\u00e3o, Alan Brum, said that the Basic Plan for Bidding and Sustainable Development for their community had been discussed intensely with representatives from the Rio de Janeiro State Construction Company (Emop) and with State departments for parks and gardens and culture and leisure since 2008. At that time, the Development Committee for the Serra da Miseric\u00f3rdia (forested hills in Alem\u00e3o) was created, comprised of 927 members from regional institutions and of residents who voiced their complaints to improve the quality of life in the region, by being included within planned urbanization. The final result was the Proactive Agenda which was then delivered to public officials.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>“When they commented on the cable car, we immediately warned that it would not work because of the topography, no one will climb up the hill to get on. We believed that the PAC investment was vital to implement alternative transport, widening both main and secondary roads and, most importantly, ensuring basic sanitation<\/a>. These are the factors that truly reflect the wishes of Rocinha,” said Alan.<\/p>\n

Whilst the implementation of the Alem\u00e3o cable car was a priority for Governor S\u00e9rgio Cabral of the PMDB party, the majority of planned works within PAC are still just on paper. Alan said that work on opening up access to the main road in Alem\u00e3o, Joaquim Queiroz, equated to only 300 meters of paving and a new announcement from the government promising to complete the work, yet with still no definition of when it will be resumed. “The cable car is a tourist attraction and the pride of the state government. To please tourists’ eyes, they [the state government] built a social belt surrounding Alem\u00e3o, with a pretty public school, emergency health clinic, cr\u00e8che and housing blocks. But this is only in the areas where tourists go. If you go into the community, you will come face to face with the results of state negligence, the true precariousness we try to combat,” he said.<\/p>\n

Alternative transport, according to Alan, continues to be discriminated against by the government, despite being the main means of transport for the community. Another critique by residents is what they call \u2018Exotic Tourism,\u2019 which Alan sees as an official service which strengthens prejudices that have always existed towards the favelas. “A tourist embarks at Bonsucesso Station, at the bottom of the hill, passes over Alem\u00e3o and heads directly to Palmeiras Station, where you find beautiful views of Rio and all this service infrastructure which was approved by the government to please visitors. From there, they go back down and that\u2019s it, the visit is over. Where is the social interaction that the government said would happen between tourists and the community? Business in Alem\u00e3o is strong, but this is not from \u2018Exotic Tourism,\u2019 which is separate and does not contribute to the local economy,” stated the social coordinator.<\/p>\n

The central criticism is the fact that the cable car does not match the performance anticipated by the government. With 152 carriages, each with the capacity to transport 10 people, the cable car was expected to become the main mode of transport in Alem\u00e3o, predicted to have 30,000 passengers a day, taking the 3.5 kilometer ride from the entrance to the top of the hill in 16 minutes. However, daily demand by residents using the cable car is only 12,000 even though they have the right to two free journeys and there is a promotional ticket price of R$1. For tourists the journey cost is R$5. December 15, 2012 had the record number of passengers, with more than 19,000 embarking on the system, which is integrated with the suburban rail network via the Bonsucesso\/TIM Station.<\/p>\n

Alan\u2019s notes since the first activities of the Development Committee for Serra da Miseric\u00f3rdia, with analyses of social and urban development in Alem\u00e3o made alongside state authorities, were put together in a dossier and given to the leader of the Rocinha Sem Fronteiras movement, Jos\u00e9 Martins de Oliveira. For several months, the leaders from the two communities have come together to better understand common problems. “It’s been possible to identify the same precariousness in Rocinha, in Alem\u00e3o and probably in all other Rio favela communities,” commented Davison Coutinho, participant in the Rocinha Sem Fronteiras movement and member of the Residents Commission for Rocinha, Vidigal and Ch\u00e1cara.<\/p>\n

Davison visited Complexo do Alem\u00e3o on Thursday, September 26 and in the meeting he had with Alan highlighted how “the structural and social problems of these regions come from a bigger problem, which is the lack of resident participation in decision-making regarding Rio government\u2019s intervention works, undermining federal law number 10.257, which demands public inclusion in such processes.” According to community representatives, S\u00e9rgio Cabral’s\u00a0government holds official meetings with the public but only to present the PAC project. “Residents complain, criticize and offer opinions, yet nothing is heard, the government does what it wants. Also because the company responsible for the social side to PAC, that must accommodate resident\u2019s decisions, is contracted by the concessionary, it’s obvious they can’t go against the government\u2019s wishes. It is a false participation by residents in the meetings where they collect signatures and photos and send them all to the Ministry of Cities, as if these communities agreed with their proposals. The cable car is not a priority for the communities and this was already\u00a0proven at the Urban Mobility Forum held by the Engineers Club, which we took part in a short time ago. The money from PAC in Alem\u00e3o and Rocinha must be put into basic sanitation, since it has been proven that every dollar spent on sanitation represents US$5 saved on health. This money should be put back into structuring public policy, such as mobility, transport, health, education, culture, social services. All of these data are within the reports produced by the government alongside the communities, but are not forwarded to the federal government,” denounced representatives from Rocinha and Alem\u00e3o.<\/p>\n

Leader of Rocinha Without Borders, Jos\u00e9 Martins de Oliveira, a community resident for 47 years, says many failures can be noted in the implementation of PAC-1 and 2. Martins believes the biggest mistake of the PAC-2 project is in the construction of the cable car, which takes the largest slice from the budget and does not follow the wishes of the local population. “It\u2019s an unwanted gift,” claims Martins. He stated that PAC-1 works were discussed in 2005, prioritizing basic sanitation in Rocinha and planning development over 10 years as part of the Social Development Plan. Within this project, construction of a cable car was never mentioned. In 2007 works began, but were paralyzed<\/a> by the state government in 2010, with more than 25% of the project pending including basic sanitation. PAC-2 includes completion of these works but prioritizes the cable car<\/a> in Rocinha.<\/p>\n

“The same situation as Alem\u00e3o will happen in Rocinha. People won\u2019t use the cable car and it will end up just being transport for tourists. Various projects were provided for, buildings were torn down and a lot was left to be done. Sanitation<\/a>, which was the greatest demand of residents<\/a>, still hasn\u2019t happened. The right path to take is discussing with the community what should be done with the funds,” he stated. Whilst the government won\u2019t go to the community to discuss PAC-2 , Martins is calling on residents to join regular meetings addressing the main reference points for the community development project.<\/p>\n

Currently, the main demand of residents from both communities is that the Ministry of Cities give heed to their priorities. “We have combined forces so that together we can strengthen efforts towards action for the greater good of the people,” said Alan and Davison. In partnership with the Rio State\u00a0Legislative Assembly\u2019s Commission for Human Rights, chaired by representative Marcelo Freixo of the PSOL Party, Alan Brum will go to the State Public Ministry (MP\/RJ) and the State Court for Accounts (TCE) against the government of Rio, demanding completion of the unfinished work of PAC and accountability to residents of all expenditures within the project. Governor S\u00e9rgio Cabral must face another lawsuit related to PAC. “We are looking to the Public Ministry of Rio and will pressure for completion of work related to PAC-1 in Rocinha. We will sue the State for non-completion of a promised project,” announced Jos\u00e9 Martins, on behalf of Rocinha Without Borders.<\/p>\n

Emop guarantees more investment for Rocinha<\/strong><\/h3>\n

According to the Rio de Janeiro State Construction Company (Emop), Rocinha will receive federal and state investment of nearly R$1.6 billion to implement infrastructure, housing and urban redevelopment projects. “The projects will prioritize implementation of drainage systems, sewerage systems, water and light, the installation of waste disposal collection services, opening of roads and extension of Roads 1, 2 and the Estrada da G\u00e1vea,” says the letter sent by the agency to Jornal do Brasil.<\/p>\n

The letter also states that the cable car is an alternative proposal to deal with urban mobility, “so that residents can reach the highest parts of the community which will be integrated with other mass transport systems such as the metro, with a station in lower Rocinha, and integration with support lines of the metro in the higher parts, alongs with the G\u00e1vea neighborhood.” According to Emop, recent funding will permit the construction of a cr\u00e8che and housing for families relocated from areas of risk or areas removed for completion of the project, which is still being drafted.<\/p>\n

The message also stated that at least 15 meetings with the community to discuss the project will take place. “Up to now six meetings have happened, with participation by around 1,000 residents. The works will prioritize sanitation, as that is the wish of the community, who also approve construction of the cable car with some exceptions, which is obvious and natural for a community of more than 100,000 residents.” The company concludes by stating that on the issue of mobility in Rocinha they are also contemplating a funicular tram, but there are no further details about this project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the original by Cl\u00e1udia Freitas in Portuguese\u00a0for Jornal do Brasil click here.\u00a0 Residents of both communities are against the construction and want continuity of Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) works Star of an international soap […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":11492,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1267,1290,335,1330,336],"tags":[150,32,205,597,354,673,545,37,152,301,529,1539,12,535,243,194,200,365],"writer":[1001],"translator":[766],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11466","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gentrificationwatch","8":"category-civilsociety","9":"category-policies","10":"category-translation","11":"category-violations","12":"tag-cable-car","13":"tag-complexo-do-alemao","14":"tag-growth-acceleration-program-pac","15":"tag-in-the-courts","16":"tag-law","17":"tag-misplaced-public-priorities","18":"tag-mobility","19":"tag-north-zone","20":"tag-participation","21":"tag-public-policy","22":"tag-public-works","23":"tag-raizes-em-movimento","24":"tag-rocinha","25":"tag-sanitation","26":"tag-serra-da-misericordia","27":"tag-tourism","28":"tag-transportation","29":"tag-zero-participation","30":"writer-claudia-freitas","31":"translator-harriet-batey"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11466"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=11466"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=11466"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=11466"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=11466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}