During the morning of 29 April, 2011, the doors to the reception hall at the headquarters of the Public Defender’s Center for Land and Housing (NUTH) were closed and locked to city residents. This local government office is responsible for defending the civil and human rights of Rio de Janeiro’s resident. Reports indicate that a…
The head of Amnesty International was in Rio de Janeiro this week and met with victims who have been forcibly removed from their homes. Secretary General Salil Shetty’s presence in Brazil demonstrates the seriousness of the issue from an international perspective, and is one of many recent events that is slowly increasing pressure and shedding…
Rio World Cup demolitions leave favela families trapped in ghost town From the Guardian – Tom Phillips Preparations for the World Cup and Olympics are bringing unparalleled development to Rio de Janeiro. But this development is creating a series of new problems which government officials had either never envisioned, or don’t care to attend to.…
Risk Recalculated Topographical analysis of the area on the Morro dos Prazeres has made government officials reconsider the complete eviction of the hilltop community. A year after the landslides that left 34 residents residents from the Morro dos Prazeres dead, the local government has decided not to remove 1,700 homes in that community. According to…
The mood is tense. A usually quiet morning in the Rio community of Rocinha is particular edgy after 200 police officers rushed into the neighborhood in what is being dubbed a massive drug operation. The police are now looking for drug trafficker Antonio Francsico Bonfim Lopes, a.k.a. Nem, who was able to escaped the police…
The following is a letter from the residents of Laboriaux to city officials, cordially demanding they fulfill their obligations to the citizenry, and undertake in necessary infrastructural works in, and around, Laboriaux, and similar neighborhoods. Many of the neighborhood’s installations are in a precarious state, and continued disregard to maintenance is putting the lives of…
Background Information: The Pastoral das Favelas, (Pastoral Care for the Favelas), is one of several “Care” programs within Rio’s Archdiocese. There are also pastoral care programs for the elderly, disabled, street children, and disadvantaged Rio residents. The Pastoral das Favelas (PdF) is at the forefront in defending the rights of Rio’s favela residents. The PdF…
Each person has to be filled with strength, love and courage when leaving home to help others. Residents from all around came in the middle of the flames to save the lives of others. Amid the flames, women, children, adults in Macega were crying in despair, seeing their homes turning into ashes. Everyone was waiting for…
Mundo Real emerged from the idea of combining our considerable experience living in Rocinha with our significant knowledge of other marginalized urban communities. Most of Mundo Real’s team was either born in these urban environments or has lived significant time in them. This organic knowledge together with years of studying urbanization, inequality, human rights, sustainable…
Since the April rains that ushered in so many changes in Rio de Janeiro Mundo Real has been increasingly engaged in media projects. It became frustratingly apparent that the mainstream media in Brazil does not cover the issues facing communities like Rocinha, such as forced evictions, from the perspective of local residents. A simple analysis…
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