{"id":57412,"date":"2020-01-20T07:00:15","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T10:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=57412"},"modified":"2021-01-05T09:59:10","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T12:59:10","slug":"best-and-worst-international-reporting-on-rios-favelas-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=57412","title":{"rendered":"Best and Worst International Reporting on Rio\u2019s Favelas: 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

This is the latest contribution to our media watchdog series on the\u00a0Best and Worst International Reporting on Rio\u2019s favelas<\/a>, part of RioOnWatch\u2019s ongoing conversation on the\u00a0media narrative<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0media portrayal<\/a>\u00a0surrounding favelas.<\/em><\/p>\n

We tend to open this column<\/a> rebuking international correspondents for, year after year, focusing exclusively on violence in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. We have repeatedly explained how this sort of negative coverage contributes to imbalanced<\/a>, negative stigmas surrounding favelas, and that such media-perpetrated stigmas reinforce<\/a> a historic narrative that in turn generates support for punitive and equivocal public policies that ultimately lead to more human rights abuses, and generate only greater violence and inequality in Rio de Janeiro. This year was proof, with the public electing a government primarily on its promise to double down on hardline actions towards favelas.<\/p>\n

Thus in 2019, Rio de Janeiro police killed more people than they had in any past year on record<\/a>. Stoked by hardline rhetoric from newly-elected Governor Wilson Witzel<\/a>, Rio security forces killed with the confidence of near-guaranteed impunity<\/a>. In this context, the relentless waves of bloody headlines flooding international coverage of Rio favelas were warranted and necessary;\u00a0effective journalism must hold public officials accountable for their words and actions. However, we at RioOnWatch<\/em> continue to insist that solutions-based, pro-positive reporting is imperative to deconstructing violent and inaccurate stigmas surrounding favelas and that Rio will only be relieved of its toxic reality and begin to realize its potential through widespread deepening of such perspectives.<\/p>\n

The focus on State-sponsored violence may have led correspondents to miss some of the biggest positive stories coming out of Rio favelas last year. Why didn’t we see, for example, coverage of Complexo do Alem\u00e3o’s<\/a> Lucas Lima, who, at 24, built his own low-cost 3D printer<\/a>. Or the Unifavela college entrance exam prep course in Mar\u00e9<\/a> that had 100% of its students accepted into university<\/a>. Or more on the fight<\/a> to bring solar energy<\/a> to favelas across Rio. The peripheries of Rio continue to produce innovative solutions to modern challenges, and we do the world a disservice by ignoring the potency of these territories<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Still, 2019’s unprecedented police violence required unprecedented attention. In that light, foreign correspondents and international outlets played a central role in monitoring and questioning Rio public security policies.<\/p>\n

Important Work Covering Police Violence<\/b><\/h3>\n

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Witzel\u2019s ultra-violent discourse (including: vows that police would shoot criminals<\/a> in \u201ctheir little heads;\u201d toying with the idea of sending a missile to blow up City of God<\/a>; repeated appearances in uniform<\/a>; and a machine-gunning helicopter trip<\/a>) featured prominently alongside a string of horrific accounts of police violence. <\/span>The killing of 8-year old \u00c1gatha Felix<\/a>, a massacre in Fallet-Fogueteiro<\/a>, the 257 shots fired at the car of musician Evaldo Santos<\/a>, the shooting of Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor<\/a> Jean Rodrigo Aldrovande, and a string of unarmed youth caught by “stray bullets”<\/a> all roused international correspondents to produce excellent, meaningful reporting. The best of these articles highlighted residents\u2019 voices and critically examined official police statements:<\/span><\/p>\n