The founder and president of NGO Redes da Maré, Eliana Sousa, says that society has normalized the absence of the state in the favelas. The visit to Maré Complex by Flávio Dino, minister of Justice and Public Security and the first minister to visit the NGO created 16 years ago in Rio de Janeiro, would have exposed this mindset.
"Public security is among human rights, just like health and education. But it is a right that is not yet established for favela and peripheral residents. I think all the controversy we have today surrounding the presence of a minister in a favela is precisely about that," said Eliana to Folha.
The interview was given at one of the NGO's headquarters, the Galpão Ritma, located at the main entrance of Nova Holanda, one of the 16 favelas that make up the Maré Complex, in the northern zone of Rio. To enter the site, the reporters walked about five meters from Avenida Brasil, one of the city's main expressways.
Eliana Sousa, founder and president of the NGO Redes da Maré - Eduardo Anizelli/Folhapress
The same route was taken by Flávio Dino on the 13th. The fact that the minister's visit did not mobilize a robust police force—the security measures adopted were routine— led Bolsonarist lawmakers to insinuate a possible connection between Dino and organized crime. This was one of the reasons why the minister was summoned to the CCJ (Commission on Constitution and Justice) on Tuesday (28).
"It is absurd to normalize the idea that police can only enter [the favela] with armored vehicles and heavy weaponry. By doing so, you are saying that everyone, the 140,000 residents, are dangerous. Not a specific group, perhaps 500 people, in certain locations involved in illicit activities with weapons," she states.
Eliana emphasizes that in the Maré Complex, there are 50 schools, nine Family Clinics, 4,000 economic enterprises, and an arts center. "It borders on ignorance to think that in the favela, there is such control [by crime] to the point where it doesn't allow people to enter whenever they want," she evaluates. When asked if she notified organized crime about the minister's visit, Eliana replied that she did not.
Flávio Dino's visit to Maré NGO raises debate about the criminalization of favelas.
Minister Flávio Dino visits NGO in the Maré Complex, northern zone of Rio de Janeiro - Redes da Maré/Divulgação
Eliana recounts that she moved to Maré at the age of six. In 1984, at the age of 22, while studying Literature at UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), she became the youngest president of a residents' association in the complex and began negotiating improvements in the favelas with the government and private entities.
She earned a doctorate in social work and a master's degree in education from PUC-Rio, and received an honorary doctorate from Queen Mary University in London. As a retired professor from UFRJ, she also taught for three years at the Institute of Advanced Studies at USP (University of São Paulo), engaged in the Olavo Setúbal Chair of Art, Culture, and Science. She is currently a professor at Insper (Institute of Teaching and Research).
The transition from president of an association to the creator of Redes da Maré occurred after the establishment of a pre-college course. "When we talk about Maré, we are talking about 16 different favelas, and I always refer to them as 'Marés.' When we created Redes, we had this idea of activating different networks, peculiarities. For example, each favela has its own association president. Redes respects this diversity," she said.
Today, Redes da Maré assists 6,007 students across five areas: knowledge production, including a pre-college course; art, with a dance school and the Maré Arts Center; urban and socio-environmental rights, focusing on policies that promote quality of life, such as pavement; health; and the right to public security and access to justice.
Eliana highlights that the favela complex is located between Linhas Amarelaand Vermelha and close to Avenida Brasil (the main avenues of Rio). "A lot of carbon dioxide is emitted here, causing us to breathe the worst air in the city of Rio. And we don't have adequate tree coverage," she said.
Regarding healthcare, it was through the work of the NGO in partnership with Fiocruz that the residents of Maré were vaccinated against Covid-19. "In four days, we vaccinated 34,000 people."
The minister's visit took place on the occasion of the launch of the 7th bulletin The Right to Public Security, featuring data from 2022. In the document, Redes da Maré reports that during that period, there were 39 deaths by firearms in the complex, 27 of which occurred in the context of police operations.
Furthermore, according to the bulletin, 62% of the operations took place near schools and daycare centers, and 67% were conducted in the vicinity of healthcare facilities. As a result of these police operations, there were a total of 15 days of suspended classes and 19 days of disrupted healthcare services.
During the visit, minister Flávio Dino also had the opportunity to see artworks by artists from Maré, including an exhibition of paintings showing police actions in the favela.
The activities of the NGO receive financial support from the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations, led by philanthropist George Soros. Some critics have questioned these funding sources on social media.
"Once again, we see our honesty being criminalized, being questioned why these institutions would support projects within the Maré favela. I think the same logic of criminalizing favela residents applies to these organizations: a criminalization of any intention other than supporting projects that can materialize rights for this population," she said.
Eliana affirms that during the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, there were no improvements in the favela complex. When asked about the types of policies that the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva should invest in, she responded directly: "In tackling human rights violations. Without that, we will not progress as a full democracy."
You can find more information in the article:(Who's Afraid of the State's Presence in the Favelas?). Link to the article.
By Bruna Fantti
