{"id":17107,"date":"2014-08-06T11:27:18","date_gmt":"2014-08-06T14:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=17107"},"modified":"2017-07-18T15:29:48","modified_gmt":"2017-07-18T18:29:48","slug":"quilombos-afro-brazilians-fight-for-land-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=17107","title":{"rendered":"Two of Rio’s Urban Quilombos and the Current Status of Afro-Brazilians’ Fight for Land Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Historically defined as communities of fugitive slaves, quilombos<\/em> represented areas of resistance and freedom for Afro-descendent Brazilians in the last country in the Western hemisphere to abolish slavery. Under the 1988 constitution, following calls from black activists for recognition and reparations<\/a>, descendants of quilombos\u00a0gained the rights to the land they had historically occupied<\/a>. Despite this, the struggle for territorial rights is still ongoing in Rio\u2019s two official urban quilombos.<\/p>\n

While largely thought to be a symbolic gesture designed to appease the black movement, the legislation laid the groundwork for thousands of claims for recognition and land rights, resting on the emergence of a new legally designated ‘quilombola<\/em><\/a>‘ identity, passed into law under Lula\u2019s government in 2003. No longer restricted to communities who could prove historic ties to settlements of escaped slaves, a\u00a0collective identity grounded in black ancestry, resistance and territory, became the key markers by which groups could claim quilombo status.<\/p>\n

Though official recognition has for many of these groups been forthcoming,\u00a0gaining land rights has proved an arduous and endless process for most<\/a>. According to the Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Cultural Palmares<\/a>, the government body responsible for certifying the communities, Rio de Janeiro state has 29 officially-designated quilombos. However, only two so far have successfully gained the rights to their territory as enshrined in the constitution.<\/p>\n

\"Quilombos<\/a>
State of Rio’s quilombos – 3 listed for the City of Rio de Janeiro: Pedra do Sal, Sacop\u00e3, and Camorim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Quilombo Sacop\u00e3<\/h3>\n

According to Luiz Pinto, leader of the Quilombo Sacop\u00e3<\/a> and President of the Quilombo Association of Rio de Janeiro State, urban quilombos face specific challenges in gaining territorial recognition. This, he suggests, stems in part from the notion of the quilombo as a secluded rural haven for slaves to hide in. From this, legal definitions have evolved which are yet to seep into the wider public imagination. In addition, he points to the powerful interests at play in the urban context, particularly in Rio de Janeiro where soaring real estate values and attempts to sanitize wealthy areas of the city have, for many years, displaced its low-income\u00a0residents.<\/p>\n

\"Quilombo<\/a>
Quilombo Sacop\u00e3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the case of Quilombo Sacop\u00e3<\/a>, perched over the exclusive Lagoa, such difficulties have been accentuated. \u201cRacism is heightened for being in a place where we are told we do not belong,\u201d Luiz explained. Indeed, the luxury flats which sprung up around the quilombo in\u00a0the 1970s house some of the city\u2019s most wealthy and powerful. These include members of the state\u2019s judiciary who have engaged in a long battle to get the quilombo removed.<\/p>\n

Having occupied the area for over a century, the 30 family members who make up the community have for over four decades resisted successive attempts at eviction. As part of this struggle in 1999 the community was granted quilombo status, initiating another judicial process to obtain rights to their land, still ongoing fifteen years later. However, Luiz believes that by the end of the year the territory could be awarded, having entered into the final stages of the process. Yet he also remains sanguine, pointing out that many quilombos at this stage in the federal recognition process have seen their\u00a0claims stagnate for years.<\/p>\n

The quilombo faces challenges other than eviction. Since 2013 they have been banned from holding their popular samba and feijoada<\/em>, which for over 40 years has been a cornerstone of the community\u2019s identity and livelihood. The judicial order prohibiting the event states commercial activity is not allowed in the area, yet Luiz points out that it has not been applied to other businesses operating in the local community\u2013\u201cit only counts against us\u201d.<\/p>\n

Facing the threat of prison if he continues with the feijoada<\/em>, Luiz has been fighting to get the case heard through a civil public action, which should get underway shortly. Despite coming face-to-face with the corruption of the judicial system in previous legal processes, he believes that their case will\u00a0prevail, arguing that the injunction is illegal as it contravenes the constitutional guarantee of freedom of cultural expression for Afro-Brazilians.<\/p>\n

Quilombo da Pedra do Sal<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, the Quilombo da Pedra do Sal<\/a> has faced similar struggles against powerful interests in Rio\u2019s port zone. Their fight for recognition began in 2004, when the Catholic Church raised rents in the area, evicting many of the poorer tenants who could no longer afford the rent. In the area once known as \u201cLittle Africa,\u201d where samba carioca<\/em> was said to have been born, they argue for the rightful presence of a quilombo community to guarantee the maintenance of Afro-Brazilian traditions such as Candombl\u00e9<\/em> and samba in the area.<\/p>\n

\"Quilombo<\/a>
Pedra do Sal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Indeed, for many Pedra do Sal<\/a> is already a synonym of\u00a0‘samba.’ The twice weekly gatherings are hugely popular with locals and tourists alike. Yet for the quilombolos<\/em>, these events fail to to transmit the rich heritage of the area, grounded in its black ancestry<\/a>. What\u2019s more, under the pressures of state-led regeneration, the Port Zone<\/a> is changing fast<\/a>, and amid rising property prices it remains to see what will become of the region\u2019s less well-off inhabitants.<\/p>\n

Yet in a significant victory for the quilombo, it has recently been awarded status as an area of cultural protection<\/a>\u00a0by the City government. For Luiz Torres, Director of the quilombo\u2019s association, it signals an important step in removing the obstacles to gaining land rights. However, he warns that the slow process of titling is on hold across the country because of the upcoming elections.<\/p>\n

The article that defines the quilombo is itself under attack, with many challenges linked to the powerful agro-business lobby. They argue the article is unconstitutional as it undermines the principle of private property, offering the opportunity for millions to claim ownership of the land they occupy. Such opposition is not going unchallenged. Dami\u00e3o Braga, President of Pedra do Sal\u2019s Quilombo Association, is involved in the national quilombo network, who is\u00a0currently lobbying to protect these rights, which have allowed for the recognition of over one million of Brazil\u2019s poor majority as quilombolos<\/em> so far.<\/p>\n

Where once quilombos struggled against an explicitly racist slave-holding regime, today their fight continues in a state plagued by the legacy of this injustice. It remains to be seen whether in the face of such an obstructive process for obtaining the rights guaranteed under the constitution, the quilombo movement can offer the broader politics of reparation that it\u00a0 aspires to.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Rio\u2019s two urban quilombos continue to display a well-spring of resistance in the city, that might serve as inspiration for others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas Historically defined as communities of fugitive slaves, quilombos represented areas of resistance and freedom for Afro-descendent Brazilians in the last country in the Western hemisphere to abolish slavery. Under the 1988 […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":17136,"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":[1267,1288,335,329,452,1329],"tags":[662,1895,1261,449,573,11,188,282,1033,354,192,1036,148,146,450,1381,270,1034,571,279,156],"writer":[1369],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17107","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gentrificationwatch","8":"category-highlight","9":"category-policies","10":"category-solutions","11":"category-rio20","12":"category-by-international-observers","13":"tag-afro-brazilian-culture","14":"tag-camorim-quilombo","15":"tag-central-rio","16":"tag-constitution","17":"tag-feijoada","18":"tag-forced-evictions","19":"tag-history","20":"tag-housing","21":"tag-land-rights","22":"tag-law","23":"tag-legislation","24":"tag-pedra-do-sal-quilombo","25":"tag-port-region","26":"tag-porto-maravilha","27":"tag-quilombo","28":"tag-reparations","29":"tag-resistance","30":"tag-sacopa-quilombo","31":"tag-samba","32":"tag-slavery","33":"tag-south-zone","34":"writer-claire-gordon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17107","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\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17107"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=17107"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=17107"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=17107"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=17107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}