{"id":23964,"date":"2015-08-21T09:40:42","date_gmt":"2015-08-21T12:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=23964"},"modified":"2019-01-29T12:08:46","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T15:08:46","slug":"one-year-to-go-to-rio-2016-an-overview-of-rios-misplaced-public-priorities-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=23964","title":{"rendered":"One Year To Go to Rio 2016: An Overview of Rio’s Misplaced Public Priorities"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Rio de Janeiro is currently in a special spotlight\u00a0as athletes, fans, nations and the global media reflect on the one year remaining to the 2016 Olympic Games, set to end exactly a year from tomorrow. The emphasis has been on the question “Will Rio be Ready?<\/a>” asking whether the city will be prepared to host a 3-week one-time event and whether it will be prepared to receive Olympic events and visitors. Little, in comparison, is written about\u00a0the\u00a0treatment of\u00a0Cariocas<\/i>, or\u00a0Rio’s\u00a0citizens, and how the City of Rio conducts itself for them. Well\u00a0over R$24.1 billion (US$10.76 billion<\/a>) will be spent on\u00a0infrastructure and development projects in support of the Olympics, but few\u00a0residents are seeing improvements.\u00a0Is quality of life improving for\u00a0<\/i>Cariocas?\u00a0Or is the money merely spent \u201cpara ingl\u00eas ver<\/em>\u201d\u2014<\/em>for the English to see<\/a>\u2014and serving private\u00a0interests?\u00a0What are the City’s priorities?<\/p>\n

Three troubling trends have exacerbated the marginalization of favela residents, comprising the most vulnerable\u00a0quarter of Rio\u2019s population: critical threats to sanitation and education have gone unaddressed;\u00a0showy infrastructure has received\u00a0investment ahead of\u00a0those basic needs;\u00a0and\u00a0private interests have been prioritized. It is\u00a0time to ask if the government is selling out its people<\/a> and valuing consumers over culture.\u00a0Local and Western media have at times taken note of the pervasive misplacement of public priorities, especially at the expense of\u00a0favelas, but few have captured the full magnitude of the issue.<\/p>\n

Underinvestment in Basic Services<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Sanitation in Rio has reached crisis levels. The Ministry of Cities notes that \u201c30% of the population in Rio de Janeiro is not connected to a formal sanitation system<\/a>, and even in areas with formal connections, only about half of sewage waste is treated before entering into waterways and eventually the ocean.” This figure does not\u00a0even account for many of the city’s informal areas, so the actual percent of the population with formal sanitation is likely lower. Compared to 96.1% access in S\u00e3o Paulo and 100% in Belo Horizonte, Rio\u2019s numbers are staggeringly low.<\/p>\n

Sanitation kills. Untreated waste from the Faria-Timb\u00f3 River flows through\u00a0Complexo de Manguinhos<\/a>\u00a0into Guanabara Bay<\/a>. At least three Manguinhos residents died due to lack of sanitation<\/a> in 2013. Favela residents have grown accustomed to unmet promises for improved sewerage infrastructure from politician after politician, from Mayor Paes to\u00a0State Governor Pez\u00e3o<\/a>, former President Lula, and current President Dilma Rousseff. A study commissioned by the Luiz de Queiroz College for Agriculture found that spending on health and sanitation\u00a0<\/strong>is the best way to reduce poverty<\/a>, yet the government has pushed aside the calls for investment in favelas rather than tackling this pressing issue. Some favela residents, such as those in Vila Kennedy<\/a>, have been able to temporarily fend for themselves through community cleanups\u00a0in place of public services<\/a>, but such an approach to sewage\u00a0is rarely\u00a0sustainable.<\/p>\n

\"Sewage<\/a><\/p>\n

The effect of poor sanitation on children is distressing. Those with access to sanitation have 18% higher educational attainment<\/a> than those without. The shortage of sanitation investment is therefore at sharp odds with the government\u2019s stated focus on improving education both in the city and across Brazil. Children in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a>, one of the largest favelas in Rio\u2019s North Zone, play in piles of garbage<\/a>\u00a0due to a lack of formal recreational spaces. A study showed most deprived areas of the city have substandard public spaces<\/a>, and even once-suitable recreational spaces have fallen into disrepair<\/a>.\u00a0Pleas for improvement have fallen upon deaf ears.<\/p>\n

The right to education is\u00a0guaranteed by the 1988 Brazilian Constitution, but children in favelas are frequently denied full access to this right. Schools are\u00a0disrupted on the occasions of police operations<\/a>\u00a0and some even on a more permanent basis by the presence of local\u00a0Pacifying Police Units<\/a>\u00a0(UPPs) initially aimed to ‘pacify’ favelas through community policing, but in North Zone communities ultimately behaving like an occupation force. In one case in 2013 in Complexo da Mar\u00e9<\/a>, armed police\u00a0scaled school walls without authorization<\/a> and searched students, closing schools for four days. Armored vehicles and occupations make students feel as if they are caught in the middle of a war.\u00a0In Alem\u00e3o, the installation of a UPP base at the Caic The\u00f3philo de Souza Pinto School has coincided with\u00a0a dramatic decrease in school attendance. Bullet holes in the school’s walls testify to students’ experience of violence in their place of learning. Following a community meeting in May<\/a>, officials promised the UPP base would be removed from the school, but as of today\u00a0the base still remains. Another site tentatively allocated for the construction of a university campus in 2011 was occupied by the UPP<\/a>\u00a0in 2012, and the university still is\u00a0yet to be built.<\/p>\n

The UPP Social<\/a> initiative, intended\u00a0to go hand-in-hand with police pacification, aimed\u00a0to \u201cintegrate\u201d favelas into the formal city by promoting opportunities for\u00a0resident participation<\/a>\u00a0to guide investment in the community.\u00a0The City’s effort to rebrand UPP Social<\/a>\u2014as ‘Rio+Social’\u2014is in itself a testament to that initiative’s\u00a0failures. Many favela residents do not believe in the program’s stated commitment to participation. \u201cThey ask because they have to, so they can say they asked,\u201d one resident\u00a0said. Unfortunately, community\u00a0\u201cparticipation\u201d is normally at most<\/a>\u00a0a process of informing residents\u00a0of what is set to happen, or “consulting” residents with no intention<\/a> of implementing their recommendations. While responsible for UPP Social, former Secretary of Finance of the Municipal Government of Rio, Eduarda La Roque, explicitly stated<\/a>: \u201cIn reality the priorities are those of the city of Rio de Janeiro as a whole. We are paying taxes to invest R$1.8 billion in Rocinha<\/a>, so the society as a whole has to identify the priority. [We do not] have to cater to what the favela wants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Misplaced Public Infrastructure\u00a0Investment<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When public\u00a0money does reach\u00a0the favelas, it is often for projects that residents do not desire<\/a>, or even\u00a0actively oppose. The cable cars in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a> and Provid\u00eancia<\/a>, and the\u00a0planned construction of one in Rocinha<\/a>, have become issues of contention. \u201cIt\u2019s an unwanted gift,\u201d says Jos\u00e9 Martins de Oliveira<\/a>, a Rocinha\u00a0resident. These cable cars can cost hundreds of millions of reais and many believe\u00a0their construction caters primarily to tourists. Residents instead desire improved sanitation and education.<\/p>\n

\"Provid\u00eancia's<\/a><\/p>\n

Some favela residents laud the conveniences of cable cars<\/a>, while others complain that the cable cars cannot support the transportation of construction materials<\/a>, are inaccessible to persons with mobility issues, and even\u00a0destroy homes<\/a>.\u00a0Residents of Alem\u00e3o and Rocinha are taking legal action against the government<\/a> for violating federal law 10.257, which requires public participation in government interventions.<\/p>\n

In Contrast: Catering to Private Interests<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The image that Rio projects for World Cup and Olympic visitors is a far cry from the lives of its average people. Poverty and exploitation are swept away. Favela resident\u00a0Maria Christina noted<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cEverything is for the gringo to see. A mulatta<\/em> is hired to dance samba and after her shift, she goes back to the favela to sleep in a shack.”\u00a0There is little distinction between public and private funding for the Games, and Piedade<\/a> resident\u00a0Fernandes Tavares speculated: \u201cI think they took from our children to build stadiums.\u201d A Penha<\/a> resident asked why the City would build modern stadiums\u00a0just for the Games if millions of Cariocas\u00a0\u201cdo not have public health, security, or quality education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another area of grave concern is the increasing privatization of the city and \u201cselling out\u201d of Carioca culture. Rising property values<\/a> have made favela communities and their residents personae non gratae<\/em>. Residents have been told that their homes are \u201cat risk,\u201d but many of those\u00a0\u201careas of risk<\/a>\u201d are located in the most lucrative parts of the city, or those with the most potential to become lucrative. Architect Lucas Faulhaber noted<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cThe Olympics are not the real reason for removals. They serve as a justification to legitimize evictions, as well as a reason to press on with the timeline. The real motive is property speculation.\u201d\u00a0Unfortunately most communities do not have the resources or technical support to question the government\u2019s verdicts<\/a>, as residents of Santa Marta<\/a> did.<\/p>\n

Over 70,000 people have been removed from their homes<\/a>, but there is little Brazilian mainstream media coverage. While they are often shipped to the West Zone<\/a>, to areas controlled by drug traffickers or militias<\/a>, luxury condominiums<\/a> will take the place of communities where homes have been passed down from one generation to the next. Many are displaced so far from their jobs<\/a> that they need to take a second or third bus to commute. Some residents lose their jobs because employers refuse to pay these extra costs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Light green = favelas where evictions took place. Orange = MCMV public housing. Zones 1-4 = Olympic zones. Dark blue circle = Port redevelopment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the most devastating side effects of both the Olympics and the 2014 World Cup<\/a>\u00a0is the fetishization of security<\/a> and the militarization of the city<\/a>. Favela residents have been deemed dangerous, their communities unsafe. Police occupations are often seen as establishing residents as ‘the enemy’ in war<\/a>. Rio\u2019s Military Police is statistically one of the most violent in the world and \u201cviolent deaths with unknown intention\u201d (VDUIs) are on the rise. On RioOnWatch, researcher Patrick Ashcroft wrote<\/a>: \u201cIn 2006, 1,676 were victims of VDUI, but by 2009 there were 5,647 cases, accounting for 60% of all violent deaths. The state then reevaluated some of that year\u2019s cases, bringing the number down to 3,587; yet Cerqueira estimates some 3,165 murders in 2009 were not reported as such… In 2007 the ISP registered the highest number of autos de resist\u00eancia<\/em>, the term for deaths caused when suspects \u2018resist arrest,\u2019 in Rio\u2019s history\u20141,330 in just one year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond the violence and displacements, the Olympics also encourage economic inequality. The\u00a0Olympic projects\u00a0lead to an enormous transfer of wealth into private hands. The middle and lower classes are left out of this supposed development of the city, and geography professor Christopher Gaffney argues these classes\u00a0cannot hold anyone accountable<\/a> after World Cup and Olympic governance structures disappear at the conclusion of the Games.<\/p>\n

Recent policies and projects suggest the government believes that the value of land is solely measured in dollars or reais, rather than by memories and community. Community bonds are broken when historic schools are demolished<\/a>\u00a0and museums are threatened with eviction<\/a>. One resident of Mar\u00e9 argued that the recent eviction threats against the famous Museu da Mar\u00e9<\/a> were\u00a0linked to real estate speculation and the state\u2019s desire to “make favela culture invisible.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas Rio de Janeiro is currently in a special spotlight\u00a0as athletes, fans, nations and the global media reflect on the one year remaining to the 2016 Olympic Games, set to end exactly […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":23906,"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":[1668,1736,1288,335,1282,328,336,1329],"tags":[1027,2271,1645,150,705,280,32,397,674,11,531,755,637,1259,673,716,37,5,15,152,193,1314,144,301,171,10,1616,1019,1584,12,535,66,443,373,156,145,30,612,21,365],"writer":[1745],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23964","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-participationwatch","8":"category-1736","9":"category-highlight","10":"category-policies","11":"category-research-analysis","12":"category-understanding-rio","13":"category-violations","14":"category-by-international-observers","15":"tag-area-of-risk-designation","16":"tag-for-the-english-to-see","17":"tag-piv","18":"tag-cable-car","19":"tag-commodification","20":"tag-complexo-da-mare","21":"tag-complexo-do-alemao","22":"tag-education","23":"tag-memory","24":"tag-forced-evictions","25":"tag-guanabara-bay","26":"tag-infrastructure","27":"tag-manguinhos","28":"tag-mega-events","29":"tag-misplaced-public-priorities","30":"tag-museum","31":"tag-north-zone","32":"tag-olympics","33":"tag-pacifying-police-unit","34":"tag-participation","35":"tag-penha","36":"tag-piedade","37":"tag-morro-da-providencia","38":"tag-public-policy","39":"tag-public-space","40":"tag-real-estate-speculation","41":"tag-reference","42":"tag-right-to-education","43":"tag-rio-social","44":"tag-rocinha","45":"tag-sanitation","46":"tag-santa-marta","47":"tag-security","48":"tag-sewerage","49":"tag-south-zone","50":"tag-upp-social","51":"tag-urban-violence","52":"tag-vila-kennedy","53":"tag-west-zone","54":"tag-zero-participation","55":"writer-richard-kuzma"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23964","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\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23964"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=23964"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=23964"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=23964"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=23964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}