{"id":62637,"date":"2020-11-01T19:38:06","date_gmt":"2020-11-01T22:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=62637"},"modified":"2020-11-11T13:14:51","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T16:14:51","slug":"in-propositive-debate-rio-de-janeiros-mayoral-candidates-make-pledges-to-favelas-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=62637","title":{"rendered":"At Propositive Debate, Rio de Janeiro’s Mayoral Candidates Make Pledges to Favelas [VIDEO]"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

This article is part of a <\/i>series of articles on Rio de Janeiro\u2019s 2020 municipal elections<\/a><\/i>\u00a0from a favela perspective.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n

On October 22, Rio de Janeiro’s\u00a0<\/span>Sustainable Favela Network held its first ever mayoral debate<\/a>, with eight candidates in attendance, and <\/span>livestreamed on Zoom and Facebook. In the absence of televised debates in 2020<\/span>, the event allowed this year’s candidates to debate their proposals and visions for a more sustainable future for the favelas and the city of Rio de Janeiro. On Facebook, the event <\/span>reached 7,000 people live<\/span><\/a> and has now been viewed by over 11,000. On the next day, it also became available <\/span>on YouTube<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The event did not take the format of a conventional electoral debate. The focus was not on the customary interactions between candidates, but rather on the interactions between candidates and favela residents, an underrepresented demographic in Brazilian politics. <\/span>The candidates<\/span><\/a> were invited to speak in a concrete and propositive way, committing to, if elected, work toward sustainable development policies together with favelas.<\/span><\/p>\n

The debate, organized by the <\/span>Sustainable Favela Network<\/span><\/a> (SFN), was moderated by urban planner <\/span>Theresa Williamson<\/span><\/a> who is\u00a0founder and executive director of <\/span>Catalytic Communities<\/span><\/a>*, and included the presence of candidates Clarissa Garotinho (PROS party), <\/span>Cyro Garcia<\/span> (<\/span>PSTU<\/span><\/a>), Eduardo Bandeira de Mello (<\/span>REDE<\/span><\/a>), Fred Luz (<\/span>NOVO<\/span><\/a>), Henrique Simonard (<\/span>PCO<\/span><\/a>), Luiz Lima (<\/span>PSL<\/span><\/a>), Renata Souza (<\/span>PSOL<\/span><\/a>), and Su\u00ead Haidar (PMB).<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Gl\u00f3ria Heloiza (<\/span>PSC<\/span><\/a>) informed the organizers, soon before the event began, that due to a delay caused by earlier commitments, she was stuck in traffic and could not participate in the debate. Martha Rocha (<\/span>PDT<\/span><\/a>), whose presence was confirmed, did not appear and did not communicate to the SFN that she would be absent. <\/span>Benedita da Silva<\/span><\/a> (<\/span>PT<\/span><\/a>), who had confirmed her presence, also did not appear, sending a note to the SFN during the event in which, among other declarations, she said \u201cI could not come to the debate today, and I apologize for this, but I want to say that I fully agree with the terms of the commitment letter presented to the candidates.\u201d Former mayor <\/span>Eduardo Paes<\/span><\/a> (<\/span>DEM<\/span><\/a>) and current mayor <\/span>Marcelo Crivella<\/span><\/a> (Republicans) accepted the invitation, but cancelled three days prior. The SFN did not at any time receive a response to its invitation letter from Paulo Messina (MDB).<\/span><\/p>\n

The central pillar of the debate was the Sustainable Favela Network’s\u00a0<\/span>commitment letter<\/span><\/a>, which was distributed to the confirmed candidates a week prior to the event. The letter was written by 60 members of the network, representing socio-environmental projects in 38 favelas. The letter encourages the candidates<\/span>\u2014and asks for their commitment\u2014to base plans for their administration, should they be elected, on 21 proposals (and 82 sub-proposals) from community organizers who are active in the favela territories and understand their potentials and challenges. The letter, \u201cfull of inclusive and impactful policy proposals,\u201d aims for candidates to recognize favelas as \u201c<\/span>factories of solutions<\/span><\/a>,\u201d with consolidated sustainable initiatives and micro-enterprises\u2014and which should be included in the social, cultural, and economic fabric of the city.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflecting about the relationship between the Sustainable Favela Network\u2019s commitment letter and the UN\u2019s 2030 Agenda and <\/span>Sustainable Development Goals<\/span><\/a> (SDGs), Williamson <\/span>explained<\/span><\/a> that \u201cit is as if we had taken the SDGs and gone through a consulting process with the most engaged local actors of these communities, resulting in a tailor-made proposal so that Rio could in fact achieve the SDGs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n