{"id":14336,"date":"2014-04-10T11:48:04","date_gmt":"2014-04-10T14:48:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=14336"},"modified":"2015-12-23T23:21:05","modified_gmt":"2015-12-24T02:21:05","slug":"mares-vibrant-and-historic-civil-society-is-organizing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=14336","title":{"rendered":"Mar\u00e9’s Vibrant and Historic Civil Society is Organizing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas\"\"<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

With the recent military occupation of the Complexo da Mar\u00e9<\/a>, Brazilian and international media have turned their attention to this group of favelas in Rio\u2019s North Zone. Yet Mar\u00e9 and its residents are so often mischaracterized<\/a> in the same fashion: helpless, desperate and violent. \u201cThe notorious Mar\u00e9 shanty town\u201d is, reads an AFP<\/em> communiqu\u00e9<\/a> widely distributed internationally, \u201ca haven for organized crime and one of the city\u2019s most dangerous places.\u201d Local coverage was often no less skewed, with Rio-based O Globo<\/i> describing it as<\/a> \u201cone of the most violent regions in the city,\u201d in which, passively, \u201cresidents hope for days of peace\u201d following the arrival of the army.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Contrary to the media portrayal, Mar\u00e9\u2013with a population of 130,000 people in 16 favelas\u2013is in fact a vibrant place with a powerful civil society, boasting strong traditions of activism and self-organization, in addition to its festive<\/a> Northeastern cultural traditions. \u201cMar\u00e9 is not just violent, it has a lot more to offer,\u201d says Carlos Alberto Fereira da Silva, vice-president of the Parque Uni\u00e3o neighborhood association. \u201cBut unfortunately the media tends to do this\u2013present Mar\u00e9 as violent, a place of shootouts, crack addicts and drug dealers. This is easier and sells more than showing the everyday difficulties of the residents and the struggles for improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n

This powerful and vocal civil society has yielded many successes, with as many as 100 social organizations based within the communities. Among the best-known organizations, Mar\u00e9 is home to NGOs such as the\u00a0Observat\u00f3rio de Favelas <\/i><\/a>(Favela Observatory), Redes de Desenvolvimento da Mar\u00e9<\/i><\/a>\u00a0(Mar\u00e9 Development Networks) and Conex\u00e3o G<\/i>, the first LGBT organization in a favela; 16 neighborhood associations<\/a>; cultural organizations, such as the Museu da Mar\u00e9<\/a><\/em>; as well as church groups and many others. Locals have long organized to fight for better social conditions and celebrate their community, while the state has often neglected to do so. \u201cEverything that Mar\u00e9 has was the victory of residents. If today Mar\u00e9 has better houses, it is because of the residents,\u201d states Carlos. \u201cThe services the government is required to provide, we do ourselves,\u201d citing examples such as sanitation<\/a> and street cleaning.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The state occupation of Mar\u00e9 has long been discussed<\/a>\u00a0and civil society organizations have been preparing residents<\/a> for some time to be aware of their rights within the context of increases in police abuse of power\u00a0under occupation.\u00a0So when it was eventually announced last month that the army would occupy Mar\u00e9 until the end of July, civil society organizations rose up to demand dialogue and participation with the government. On Thursday, April 3, after being publicly convoked by NGOs and residents\u2019 associations, State Security Secretary Jos\u00e9 Mariano Beltrame<\/a> attended a public hearing in the Mar\u00e9 Arts Center, in front of approximately 400 people. During the meeting, he agreed to accept a set of conditions for the military occupation<\/a> presented to him by community leaders, and explained he is creating an ombudsman for the\u00a0Pacifying Police Units (UPPs)<\/a> across the city\u2013something the Observat\u00f3rio<\/i>,\u00a0Redes<\/i> and others had campaigned for. This week, a public audience with Mayor Eduardo Paes was planned.<\/p>\n

The very presence of senior state representatives is itself evidence of the influence and visibility Mar\u00e9\u2019s civil society holds. Founder and co-director of Redes da Mar\u00e9<\/i>, Edson Diniz explained the significance of Beltrame\u2019s visit: \u201cThat the Security Secretary was here, taking responsibility, is something that before was impossible\u2013the police would enter and do whatever they wanted, dictating the rules,\u201d he said. It is the articulation of the many organizations within Mar\u00e9 that pressures the state into these concessions. \u201cTwenty years ago there was no negotiation\u2026 so for him to come and take responsibility is a big gain [for the community].\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>The formation and growth of Mar\u00e9 has a long story, starting with the first occupations in the 1940s. Residents celebrate and preserve the neighborhood’s rich history through projects such as the Museu da Mar\u00e9, a community museum initiative to collect artefacts and information on the area\u2019s history, some innovations of which were featured in last year’s “Favela Design” exhibition<\/a>, and Redes\u2019<\/i>\u00a0Memory and Identity Nucleus, which is currently producing a series of books documenting the history of each of Mar\u00e9\u2019s favelas, told by residents and community leaders themselves.<\/p>\n

The evolution of the community has been influenced by several important factors. In the 1980s and 90s, Mar\u00e9 was\u2013as with so many others of Rio\u2019s favelas\u2013under threat of eviction because of the Projeto Rio<\/i>, a federal program and the largest government intervention in Mar\u00e9. Shortly following its launch in Mar\u00e9 in 1982, large areas were threatened with removal. \u201cThis strengthened the organization of the residents in self-identifying themselves in Mar\u00e9, improving the quality of life\u2026 This created a nucleus, a group of people who, later, went on to strengthen civil society here,\u201d explains Edson. The success of campaigning meant that Mar\u00e9 is now an officially recognized neighborhood. Redes da Mar\u00e9<\/i>, like many other organizations operating within Mar\u00e9, was founded by residents involved in political and community activism, liberation theology base communities, and neighborhood associations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Among many examples of success and achievement through these nucleuses, Conex\u00e3o G<\/i> stands out as the first LGBT NGO based in a favela. Gilmar Cunha, director and co-founder, described how it grew out of the need to respond to violence\u2013physical and mental\u2013perpetrated against LGBT youths in their community, and their alienation from the non-favela LGBT movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis population [LGBT from favelas] was invisible, and still continues being invisible. So Conex\u00e3o G<\/i> arose with the proposal of giving visibility to this group, to mobilize and articulate public policies for them,\u201d says Gilmar. \u201cIf we try to visualize the situation of the LGBT residents of favelas, it is a very different situation from Leblon\u2019s LGBT population. If you do an interview with gay residents in a favela, they will tell you that the priority is not marriage, but the minimization of violence.\u201d Now, thanks to their pioneering work in health and awareness, gay residents of Mar\u00e9 have \u201crespect\u201d within the community \u2013 something that before seemed impossible, and LGBT NGOs are being set up in other favelas.<\/p>\n

Mar\u00e9\u2019s civil society, fuelled by the residents themselves, has brought many innovations and benefits to their community. In the current climate of occupation, one hopes Mar\u00e9\u2019s many outspoken voices will not be smothered. The success in opening public negotiations with Beltrame points toward possibilities for a healthier interaction between the state, civil society and residents. As Edson stresses, \u201cWe cannot fall into the illusion that civil society is going to replace the state. Our role is not this\u2026 Our role is to pressure the state so that it fulfils its duties.\u201d This harmony is essential to ensure a fruitful relationship, in which the communities\u2019 needs are addressed by the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a lot more than simply a military occupation\u2013we need social action,\u201d explains Carlos. \u201cWe are expectant, because this cannot simply be another<\/em> [military occupation]\u2013this has to be The Occupation, in which the social must be remembered above public security.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas With the recent military occupation of the Complexo da Mar\u00e9, Brazilian and international media have turned their attention to this group of favelas in Rio\u2019s North Zone. Yet Mar\u00e9 and its […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":14345,"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":[1290,1268,335,329,328,336,1329],"tags":[1162,1163,756,258,280,1161,272,674,11,1164,188,1160,716,37,523,1292,15,362,152,888,1555],"writer":[1776],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-civilsociety","8":"category-favelaculture","9":"category-policies","10":"category-solutions","11":"category-understanding-rio","12":"category-violations","13":"category-by-international-observers","14":"tag-army-occupation","15":"tag-civil-society","16":"tag-community-organizing","17":"tag-community-solution","18":"tag-complexo-da-mare","19":"tag-conexao-g","20":"tag-mayor-eduardo-paes","21":"tag-memory","22":"tag-forced-evictions","23":"tag-gay-rights","24":"tag-history","25":"tag-museu-da-mare","26":"tag-museum","27":"tag-north-zone","28":"tag-observatorio-de-favelas","29":"tag-organizing","30":"tag-pacifying-police-unit","31":"tag-parque-uniao","32":"tag-participation","33":"tag-police-intimidation","34":"tag-redes-de-desenvolvimento-da-mare","35":"writer-benjamin-parkin"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14336","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\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14336"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=14336"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=14336"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=14336"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=14336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}