{"id":84008,"date":"2026-08-29T07:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T10:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=84008"},"modified":"2026-08-28T21:59:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T00:59:34","slug":"i-miss-everything-reflections-from-conceicao-queiroz-ten-years-after-being-evicted-from-vila-autodromo-for-the-olympic-games-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=84008","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I Miss Everything\u2019: Reflections from Concei\u00e7\u00e3o Queiroz Ten Years After Being Evicted from Vila Aut\u00f3dromo for the Olympic Games [INTERVIEW]"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Concei\u00e7\u00e3o<\/a>
Concei\u00e7\u00e3o Queiroz, former resident of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, reflects on her forced relocation to Parque Carioca ten years ago. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

This article is part of our series reflecting on the impacts of mega-events on Rio de Janeiro\u00a010 years after the 2016 Olympic Games<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\u2018Memory<\/a>
\u2018Memory Can\u2019t Be Evicted\u2019 banner at the Evictions Museum in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Concei\u00e7\u00e3o Queiroz, 51, was one of the last residents to be forcibly evicted from Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a>, in Rio de Janeiro\u2019s Southwest Zone<\/a>, a favela located in Barra Ol\u00edmpica<\/a>, next to the Olympic Park<\/a>. She fought for her right to stay but, in the end, was forced to leave her community\u2014which became a symbol of the fight<\/a> against pre-Olympic forced evictions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 2026, ten years later, Queiroz sat down with RioOnWatch<\/em> and reflected on what her life has been like since being relocated to the public housing complex Parque Carioca<\/a>, along with thousands of other residents<\/a>\u00a0evicted from Vila Aut\u00f3dromo.<\/p>\n

RioOnWatch<\/em>: Concei\u00e7\u00e3o, first, can you tell us how long you lived in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo? What was your life like there?<\/h3>\n

I must have lived there for some 15, 20 years. I\u2019m not quite sure. When I came [from the northeastern state of Maranh\u00e3o] to Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, my sister was pregnant. I went there to take care of my nephew when he was born. Then, he was born and I just stayed. I got a job. I rented a little studio there. I got a boyfriend, got married. That\u2019s how I put down roots in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, you know?<\/p>\n

My nephew is 29 now! That\u2019s the proof right there: I arrived in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo 29 years ago. But it\u2019s been almost ten years since we came here [to Parque Carioca], right? [So, I lived there for almost 20 years.]<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>
One of the main streets of the original Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, 2013. Photo: CatComm\/RioOnWatch<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RioOnWatch<\/em>: What memories of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo do you have?<\/h3>\n

I have good memories of the time I lived there. I always loved Vila Aut\u00f3dromo because, since I grew up on a small farm in the countryside, Vila Aut\u00f3dromo felt like living in the country to me. Everything was small, everyone knew each other, it was down-to-earth: small backyards, guava trees. Everyone there had their own yard. So, I was in a big city, but when I got home, it felt like I wasn\u2019t in the city anymore: it was like being on a small farm. I felt at home<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To this day, I still love Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. Everyone knew each other there. It really is a family. You\u2019d put a chair out front and chat with the neighbors when you got home from work. All the older residents would be sitting out front talking. There was no way you could come home without talking to one person, then another: \u201cOh, come on in, let\u2019s have some coffee and a warm roll.\u201d Vila Aut\u00f3dromo is unforgettable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A man with his horsedrawn carriage in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, 2013. Photo: CatComm\/RioOnWatch<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RioOnWatch<\/em>: Since the forced evictions for the Olympics, much of the area that used to be Vila Aut\u00f3dromo was never developed and was left abandoned. How does that make you feel?<\/h3>\n

The City wanted that whole area<\/a>, but they couldn\u2019t get it<\/a> because the fight was so intense<\/a>. And then the people who managed to stay to the end without being evicted won the right [to remain]. The City built 20 houses<\/a>, including one that was in my name. I was going to stay. I stood my ground. I was the second-to-last person to leave during the fight against eviction.<\/p>\n

I actually didn\u2019t stay until the end because there was this whole issue of money. They [the City] were offering apartments plus money [to residents who agreed to leave Vila Aut\u00f3dromo]\u2026 The City pressured people with money<\/a>, making offers like: \u201cI\u2019ll give you R$100,000 (US$20,000) plus an apartment,\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll give you R$100,000 plus two apartments.\u201d And, you know how people are, right? They wanted to leave, they wanted to live better lives<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My ex-husband decided: \u201cI don\u2019t want to stay, so you have to sell your share.\u201d As it was, our marriage wasn\u2019t doing well when this whole eviction thing started. There were a lot of problems in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo throughout the evictions.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to stay anymore. I want to get out of here. I want to get my apartment. I want more money. It\u2019s the only chance I have to make something of my life. When am I ever going to see R$100,000 in my life?\u201d It was R$100,000 cash plus an apartment. He pressured me.<\/p>\n

I talked to my family, and they said: \u201cThe house belongs to both of you. There\u2019s no way to split it. How are you going to split a house in half? Half for the City and half for you? So you two have to come to an agreement. Give him his share and you keep yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then we separated. The City gave me this unit plus R$100,000 and gave him another apartment plus R$100,000. I only left because I was pressured, you know? I had to give in. Had it been up to me, I\u2019d still be living in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. To me, that’s where my family is. And there\u2019s the church. It looks beautiful there now, with the little houses, the streets, the church. There\u2019s just no market there, but people sell things. Thank God, someone won the fight. Vila Aut\u00f3dromo didn\u2019t disappear, it wasn\u2019t wiped off the map. Vila Aut\u00f3dromo is still around, thanks to Luiz, Penha and everyone who fought for Vila Aut\u00f3dromo.<\/p>\n

\"Market<\/a>
Market in the original Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, 2013. Photo: CatComm\/RioOnWatch<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RioOnWatch<\/em>: Do you think the City ever really had plans for the area, or did they just want to forcibly evict the residents?<\/h3>\n
\"International<\/a>
International press coverage of the evictions was intense, generating over 11,500 mentions on Google<\/a> at the height of the evictions. Photo: CatComm\/RioOnWatch<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In my opinion, when there’s an event and there\u2019s a poor area nearby, and they want to build something beautiful there, invest money in it, show it off, the mayor [Eduardo Paes] doesn\u2019t want a favela next to a place where millions of people from abroad are going to come. So, to me, the fight really was about removing the community that was getting in the way and kind of making things look bad next to this huge project. But the media coverage got too big, it went all over the world. I gave a lot of interviews when they were evicting people.<\/p>\n

They’d take someone away from their home and then, quickly, a bulldozer would come and tear the house down<\/a>. And all that rubble would be left behind. And really, from my perspective, it was shocking because it looked like those places we see in a war, or where there\u2019s been an earthquake. It\u2019s still something terrible in my mind\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n

Until it got to the point after human rights [supporters] got involved, when, after demolishing the houses, the City had to take away the rubble because it was getting dangerous for the people who still lived there<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Living<\/a>
Living amid the rubble left behind by the City caused a number of problems, including health issues. Photo: CatComm\/RioOnWatch<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RioOnWatch<\/em>: How would you describe your move to Parque Carioca? Have the people in your new neighborhood created a sense of community?<\/h3>\n

This place is nothing compared to Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. You get here and you don\u2019t see your friends<\/a>\u2026 When I talk about this\u2026 I always cry, because it\u2019s so sad<\/a> [Concei\u00e7\u00e3o speaks while crying<\/em>]. For me, it\u2019s so sad to have left Vila Aut\u00f3dromo and come live here. Some of my friends didn\u2019t even move here. They went to other places, took the money, went back to Para\u00edba [state], back to where they came from. And it wasn’t just people from Vila Aut\u00f3dromo who moved here. Many people came from other places, people we didn\u2019t know. A lot of older people<\/a> I knew who moved here [from Vila Aut\u00f3dromo] didn\u2019t even make it a year: they all passed away. They got depressed and died. Many of the older ladies I knew from there had nowhere to go to see their friends when they got home from work.<\/p>\n

Here, you have one person in Lot One, another in Lot Two, another in Lot Three. The [elderly community members] were all left on their own. Their families didn\u2019t take care of them. And they didn\u2019t have that same thing of seeing their friends, you know? They died one after another.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
Photo panel of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo residents and their resistance, at the Residents\u2019 Association in 2013. Photo: CatComm\/RioOnWatch<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I found this really sad, because the older people really didn\u2019t want to leave. But their children were so tempted [by the money], they\u2019d argue with their parents and grandparents to take the money and leave [Vila Aut\u00f3dromo]. They didn\u2019t even think about their own father, their own mother. It\u2019s really sad what money does to people.<\/p>\n

It took me so long to build my little house there. I worked so hard to make my home the way I wanted it. Just for it to be demolished by a bulldozer. It was a terrible thing when they tore my house down. A feeling of\u2026 I don\u2019t even know how to explain it: you built your little house, you took years to build it and, out of the blue, it\u2019s so fast<\/a>, all that\u2019s left is the ground.<\/p>\n

I watched the demolition, and so it’s seared into my mind, that bulldozer. All those years of work [to build it], for it to end in minutes! I saw so many homes being demolished. Every day I came home from work and there was a house on the ground. There were so many police, bulldozers, dumpsters. It’s the saddest part of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo[‘s history].<\/p>\n

\"Living<\/a>
Living amid the debris left behind by the City emotionally destabilized even many of those who had wanted to stay. Photo: CatComm\/RioOnWatch<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RioOnWatch<\/em>: Since you were evicted, what problems have you faced that most people couldn’t even imagine?<\/h3>\n

When the City came with a team of five, six people, they always showed up at your house. I watched a lot of people [be pressured to accept the City\u2019s offers] because I took longer to leave. The City would sit people down and say: \u201cYou have to go,\u201d and would show the video of the apartment, of what it would be like to live there and, let’s say, have a stable life. For someone whose house had a dirt floor, no tiles… they created a model apartment all decorated: \u201cLook what your apartment is going to look like.\u201d That stayed with people\u2026 and people wouldn’t even think twice.<\/p>\n