Pacify Rocinha

  • On Monday, March 26, 2012 the president of one of Rocinha’s three residents associations (AMABB) was shot and killed. Vanderlan Barros de Oliveira, known as Feijão, walked a short distance out of the association’s headquarters when he was shot at five times in broad day light by a man on a motorcycle wearing a helmet.…

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  • There’s an ambitious government programme underway in one of Rio de Janeiro’s biggest slums, or favelas. The aim is to clear Rocinha – home to over 100,000 people – of the drugs gangs that have dominated there for decades. The strategy, known as ‘pacification’, begins with a raid by Brazilian elite forces to drive out…

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  • For their participation in these reports, Paul Sneed and the Back|Story team would like to thank religious leader Pai Almir who lives in the favela Rocinha. Also a big thank you to Viviana Rodrigues who is a teacher in Rocinha and co-founder of 2bros.org. A big thank you, as well, to Sergi Navarro-Rivero, a Harvard…

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  • – Rocinha – On Saturday November 26th there was a conference hosted by the Community Board of Rocinha, São Conrado and Gávea. The event was held at the Ayrton Senna public school, located on the São Conrado side of the new pedestrian bridge at the foot of Rocinha. The Community Board (Câmara Comuitaria) of Rocinha, São…

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  • On Thursday, November 17th there was an important meeting in Rocinha’s Sports Complex (Complexo Esportivo da Rocinha) at 6:30PM. The meeting was organized by the Community Board for Rocinha, São Conrado and Gávea (Câmara Comunitária da Rocinha, São Conrado e Gávea). The Community Board is a social movement that was formed in early 2011 with…

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  • Rocinha was officially ‘occupied’ during the early morning hours of Sunday, November 13th. This was only the first phase of the state’s ‘pacification’ process. Authorities have been promising that Rocinha would received a UPP since 2009, and for various nuanced reasons it took a long time to occur. There are countless angles in which this…

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  • ( a brief on organized crime and security policy in Rocinha. ) Mundo Real’s home community of Rocinha has entered a defining moment in its almost 90 year history. But before continuing it is worth mentioning that organized crime and security policy are very sensitive issues in Rocinha, and for us, a small community-based organization…

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