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A Rio within Rio
Posted in: News & Updates by Susan Phung on March 8, 2010
Hamilton, ON—On hillsides overlooking the heart of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the poor live in the shadow of the rich. Towering skyscrapers and lavish condominium complexes in one section of the city show Brazil’s promising future. In another section of the city however, it is difficult to support this claim. Clusters of houses are stacked upon one another as if to test the laws of gravity. Snake-like narrow roads show a lack of infrastructure. An absence of waste disposal programs is noticeable from the garbage on the streets and a residual nauseous smell.
These are characteristics of Brazil’s infamous favelas.
The proximity of these two contrasting communities juxtaposes Brazil’s disparity in poverty and wealth. Population growth, lack of space, and high prices for land drive the migrating hopeful away from the prosperous Rio districts into these nearby settlements. There, they settle into houses made of scrap metal, wood, and mud. Difficulty finding jobs in the favela means many venture afar to find work. The rich offer them cheap labor and service jobs at unreasonable wages, taking advantage of the high demand for work. Still, unemployment in Rio’s favelas is 33% higher than in other parts of the city, causing favela residents to resort to other means of making income.
Organized crime is a common career choice in the favela. Ruthless drug lords rule favelas and impose their own laws – they can even control who is allowed into the favela. Turf wars between rival drug lords are never-ending and are responsible for the deaths of bystanders and children. Drug mafias recruit adolescents because they cannot be prosecuted in Brazil. Unfortunately, almost one fifth of youth within drug mafias die within two years of being recruited. Police officers do little to control the violence. They are poorly paid and easily corruptible. When they intervene, they end up leaving the favela in a more disastrous state. Homes are riddled with bullets. Corpses, both of bystanders and policeman, litter the streets. If drug lords are killed, new ones emerge to claim the territory. With the government having ignored the problems in the favelas in the past, organized crime and corruption continued to prosper.
Despite Brazil’s emergence as an international superpower, its global image remains marred by the favela. Unfortunately, favelas in Rio de Janeiro are located on hills facing the harbor, giving tourists and passing ships a distasteful impression. Almost one fifth of Rio lives in these favelas, an overwhelming statistic that highlights the economic inequity in Brazil. Statistics show that the richest 10% of Brazilians controls 43% of the wealth, whereas the poorest 10% controls 1.1%. Furthermore, 34% of the population lives below the poverty line. Winning the bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games may be a blessing in disguise for Brazil. Recent efforts have been focused on merging the favelas with the rest of the city. With funds available from the Olympic budget, the government can now implement programs to provide favelas with proper electricity, water, and sewage facilities. Former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, was recently recruited to help curb the violence in the favelas.
The Favela-Bairro favela in Rio is one of the most heavily funded projects. Over $1 billion USD has been invested to bring basic infrastructure and social services into the favela. Roads, drainage systems, and street cleaning services are some of the benefits already seen. Though there is much work still to be done, there have been noticeable differences in Favela-Bairro in comparison to other favelas. Unemployment rate has dropped, as has crime rate. Schools and gyms have been built, providing children with education and ways to stay off the streets. Success in integrating the favelas into the cities will establish Brazil as a reputable country.
The race is on for Brazil to completely makeover the favelas in time for the 2016 Olympic Games, which billions of people worldwide will tune into.
Steven Wong
Research Assistant, Empowerment Squared
s.wong@empowermentsquared.org
