By Elena Landau, economist and columnist
Last week, I visited Redes da Maré, a civil society institution that organizes effective projects and public policy actions to improve the lives of the 140,000 favela residents. It is greater than 96% of Brazilian municipalities; yet, the absence of the State is glaring. Schools and health posts exist, but they are insufficient.
When the new coronavirus arrived here, the lack of basic public services in communities like that made the impact of the pandemic on inequality even greater. From the lack of basic sanitation to the suffocating housing, it was almost impossible to comply with hygiene and distancing rules.
From Redes, local initiatives were born to address these structural needs. They provided water fountains, food baskets – prepared with products from the local commerce –, tablets were distributed and masks were adopted before becoming a national policy. An extensive vaccination program has meant that no covid-19 deaths have been recorded since October.
The lesson that remains is: listen to local demands and work with their leaders to come up with specific solutions.
View from Maré Ecological Park, by Douglas Lopes.
Over the years, under the command of Eliana Silva, Redes da Maré helped to break a cycle of poverty and allowed the social mobility of its residents. With the effort to improve teaching, the women I met took college and postgraduate courses and came back to help in new phases of knowledge. There, you can see up close the complete approach to the citizen, with legal help, training courses for mothers and extracurricular activities for children.
Visiting the local library, I found Luana, nine years old, 5th grade, resident of Nova Holanda, one of the 16 favelas in Conjunto da Maré. She explained to me how the space works, and we started to chat. Her answers were straightforward:
– What do you think is the most beautiful place in Rio?
– The beach, but I never went. (It is unbelievable to live with an isolated city within another city. The favela is hidden by a wall on the Linha Vermelha Avenue, through which those arriving in Rio from other locations pass. Zuenir Ventura used the term “broken city” to describe Rio de Janeiro. Redes refuses to use this concept. To accept that we are broken is to accept that we will be forever divided. They prefer an “unequal city”. It makes sense. Fighting inequality is possible, it is the task of the whole society).
– What is most important in your life?
– Studying.
–What does a president need to do to improve the country? - The good.
That simple.
Rio de Janeiro, March 18, 2022.
