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The rains over the past week in Rio de Janeiro killed close to 200 people. The government in Rio de Janeiro began the process of removing communities in high risk areas. These new removal policies began stirring the debate about whether or not the city should have the right to remove people from their homes. It really is a complicated debate, and I do not pretend to know the right answer. On the one hand, people are living on unstable land where they risk the chance of death by future mudslides; on the other hand, we must respect that many people have lived in these communities for their whole lives, some families for generations.
Will the government have the capacity, organization, and will power to ensure that the people removed get situated in new homes? I have my doubts, but I am also not in Brazil right now. I would love to know if anybody has an idea. I also dare question: If the city of Rio de Janeiro begins a removal policy in one community, where will it stop? We know that officials have been planning to remove several communities due to the Olympic games. Will this start a trend of community removals?
On a similar note, I ran across this post about a man who locked himself in a self-made cage on an elevated post that is located on the side of the highway between the airport and Rio de Janeiro’s city center. He will remain in the cage protesting new sound barrier walls that Rio plans to put up along the highway. Many people have accused the city of planning these walls as an excuse to hide the favelas from tourists’ “gaze” during the upcoming World Cup and Olympic Games.
I read about this protester from the blog of Francisco Valdean. Valdean grew up in the Complexo de Maré, a large area made up of 16 favelas. He is a photographer and is studying social sciences at UERJ. He has some really amazing pictures, which you can see here. Plus, a really interesting blogger. Just a side note; it’s in Portuguese!
