{"id":84445,"date":"2026-10-22T21:12:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T00:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=84445"},"modified":"2026-10-22T21:13:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T00:13:40","slug":"what-do-lula-and-flavio-bolsonaros-policy-platforms-say-about-favelas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=84445","title":{"rendered":"What Do Lula and Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro Policy Platforms Intend For Favelas?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

This article is part of a series on the 2026 Brazilian elections<\/a>, focusing on the perspectives of Greater Rio\u2019s favelas.<\/em><\/p>\n

Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro mentioned favelas in the Bandeirantes TV political debate, but did not refer to these areas in his policy platform. Lula made two references to favelas and included favela upgrading and public security proposals in his platform.<\/em><\/p>\n

A few days before Brazil\u2019s 2026 presidential runoff election, scheduled for Sunday, October 25, RioOnWatch<\/em>presents an analysis of the government programs<\/a> of Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva<\/a> (Workers\u2019 Party – PT) and Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro<\/a> (Liberal Party – PL), filed with the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). The investigation mapped<\/a> what the two presidential candidates propose for favelas and peripheral areas and how these areas feature among their stated priorities for public security, urbanization, housing and social rights.<\/p>\n

Map of the Candidates\u2019 Proposals<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Theme \/ Area<\/strong><\/th>\nLuiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva (PT)<\/strong><\/th>\nFl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro (PL)<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Favelas and Peripheries<\/strong><\/td>\nIntegrated favela upgrading and expansion of the Living Peripheries program.<\/td>\nDoes not use either term in the platform; focuses on reclaiming areas controlled by criminal factions.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Public Security<\/strong><\/td>\nCreation of a Ministry of Public Security, if the proposed constitutional amendment (PEC) is approved; intelligence and disrupting criminal financial flows.<\/td>\nClassification of criminal factions as narcoterrorist organizations, harsher sentences, lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 16 and 500,000 new prison beds.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Police Oversight<\/strong><\/td>\nEncouraging the use of body cameras under a national standard and strengthening internal affairs divisions and external oversight.<\/td>\nNo oversight mechanisms; legal backing for police and the killing of criminals armed with rifles.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Housing<\/strong><\/td>\nDirect public subsidies through the My House, My Life program and use of federal government properties in central areas.<\/td>\nRevival of the Green and Yellow House program, a target of 2.5 million units and delivery of property deeds through private partnerships.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sanitation<\/strong><\/td>\nFederal funding via the New Growth Acceleration Program (Novo PAC), prioritizing peripheries (no set deadline).<\/td>\nFaster auctions to award service contracts to private companies (Legal Framework), a target for schools by 2030 and the Lix\u00e3o Zero (Zero Landfills) program.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Labor<\/strong><\/td>\nEnd of the 6\u00d71 work schedule, a 40-hour week, rules for app-based work and a crackdown on pejotiza\u00e7\u00e3o <\/em>(the bogus classification of workers as self-employed for the employer\u2019s benefit).<\/td>\nLower payroll charges, agreements between companies and workers that override the law and specific first-job contracts.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Education<\/strong><\/td>\nLiteracy at the appropriate age, expanded full-time schooling, connectivity in schools and expanded access to public education.<\/td>\nDaycare vouchers for families without a spot in the public system, peer tutoring, expansion of civic-military schools and transfer of federal universities to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Health<\/strong><\/td>\nExpanding multidisciplinary teams, strengthening digital health, expanding access to dental care and vaccination and adding diagnostic tests to the Popular Pharmacy program.<\/td>\nUpdating the SUS payment table (amounts paid to hospitals and clinics per service), expanding telehealth, integrating electronic medical records and making it easier to deliver medication to older people and people with disabilities or chronic illnesses.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Analysis of the Candidates\u2019 Platforms and the Bandeirantes TV Debate<\/h3>\n

The central question guiding our reporting was: what are the presidential candidates promising those who live in favelas?<\/strong> Finding the answer on paper took stamina. In the 76 pages of Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro\u2019s program<\/a>, Brazil\u2019s favelas are not mentioned once. In the 84-page platform put forward by Lula<\/a>, who is running for a final term, these communities appear twice: on page 28, in the chapter on public security, and on page 45, in a mention of Living Peripheries<\/em>, a federal program that funds upgrading projects in favelas and peripheral areas.<\/p>\n

The contrast, however, took on new contours on television. In the debate hosted by Bandeirantes TV on October 18, Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro made a point of mentioning favelas six times\u2014five of them associating these areas with drug trafficking, guns, violence and the state reclaiming territorial control. On one occasion, he mentioned economic activity and entrepreneurship. In one of his remarks, he spoke directly to those living in these areas: \u201cYou who live in a favela dominated by drug trafficking, there are guns where you live, illegal guns, right? There are rifles there, right?\u201d said the candidate.<\/p>\n