This article discusses resistance movements carried out by residents of the Morro da Providência, Rocinha and Morro dos Prazeres favelas, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Such actions have intensified during the last decade in reaction to the deepening of the inherent contradictions in capitalism, as authoritarian management of social conflicts have intensified in…
On Sunday, October 6th 2013 a special event was organized by Movimento Preserva Laboriaux in the recreational area in and around the football pitch at the end of the Laboriaux community. According to the project coordinator, Gabriel Vote, “The event was beautiful, we called it Laboriaux’s First Encounter with Arts, it was an activity aimed…
On Saturday September 21 the community-based organization Rocinha Sem Fronteiras held their monthly open meeting in the recreation room of the Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem church, Estrada da Gávea 445, Rocinha. The meeting, which began at 5 PM, was focused on the concerns of PAC 1 and PAC 2 and the lack of local…
Back in April of 2010, as many already know, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, announced that he would evict the entire community of Laboriaux without negotiation. In an April 8th 2010 O Globo article (page 14 – O Rio Em Colapso) Paes (PMDB) and others, including city council women Andrea Gouvea Vieira…
Eduardo Paes finally Visits Laboriaux, our community, which he condemned, in its entirety in 2010 for eviction. After three years of protests, campaigns and organized demanding of rights the residents of Laboriaux finally pressured him to visit the community. He promised in front of dozens of cameras and eagerly listening residents that not…
This piece is based on participant observation (mainly in Rocinha), authorized recorded interviews, literature reviews, etc.… No names or compromising details will be disclosed. Well, it is official, the teleférico (air tramway) is coming to Rocinha very soon, at least the work will begin soon. Actually it has been official for some time now, but…
The city of Rio de Janeiro spends R$ 377 million (215 million USD) in order for resident’s of a wealthy area of Ipanema to remain where they live while a major infrastructure project is completed around, and under them. At the same time, and hypocritically, the City is removing at will, and arbitrarily, dozens of…
After the police occupation in November of 2011, rent has increased by 30% The occupation of Rocinha by security forces has put the community in focus. Conveniently located in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro, close to the beach and overlooking the ocean, peace should be cause for celebration for the residents, but instead it has…
On February 7th eleven residents of Laboriaux participated in an important meeting/reading with Dr. Francisco Horta Filho to study the Municipal DECREE (DECRETO) N°34522, published on the 3rd of OCTOBER of 2011. Francisco Horta Filho is the new coordenador of the Núcleo de Terras e Habitação (Nuth), or the Nucleus for Land and Housing, of the Defensoria Pública do Estado do Rio…
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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