Placing slums at the center of the electoral debate, as protagonists, is crucial for building democracy.

The slums of Rio de Janeiro have long held an ambiguous position in political and media discussions during election years....

By Eliana Sousa Silva

There are many different reasons why women fight around the world. Every March 8th, media articles and various events draw our attention to the challenges that billions of women face daily, in different levels and ways. International Women's...

The Supreme Court needs to assess the constitutionality of Rio's public security policy

This Friday, the STF (Supreme Federal Court) plenary will evaluate a precautionary measure granted by Minister Edson Fachin that suspends police operations in the favelas of...

The use of aircraft in police operations as a shooting platform causes us to reach a new and unacceptable level of violence, perversity and lack of respect for life by the Government.

It is not news that the security...

I begin this text completely stunned. On the last 14th, we completed three months of the murder of city councilwoman Marielle Franco, “child of Maré”, as she defined herself, without any conclusion regarding the identity of her executioners. In this sense, the exceptional...

March 8, as a reference date to remember the condition of women worldwide, must be recognized for its political and symbolic meaning. That date, set in 1977 by the United Nations, meant the recognition of historic struggles undertaken by women in the United...

The evening of the 24^th and the morning of the 25^th of June, 2013 will be marked in the memory of the residents of Maré shantytown complex and the city of Rio de Janeiro by sadness.

A group of Special Operations Battalion...

What were you doing on a Saturday night, November 28, 2015?   You were probably having fun with relatives or friends. Five black adolescent and youth were doing the same in an economy car, in a district of Rio de Janeiro suburb, going to a pizzeria, until they were shot by military...

Public security is one of the least spread fundamental rights in Brazil. Far from that, the slums and peripheries populations never had it - not even as a possibility. Residents have been systematically treated in a violent and hostile manner, in a clear...

The ten deaths occurred at down in June 2013 in Maré, the largest complex of favelas (slums) in Rio de Janeiro,  could have been just another sad episode, among so many recorded in Rio de Janeiro violent routine, that don’t result in debate or consequence worthy of note. ...

The moment we live in calls attention to the profusion of dramatic events that cross our daily lives. We can barely digest them and soon we are faced with new facts to challenge us. We are, undoubtedly, facing a wave that will require intense strength and vigor to withstand times...

Armed clashes with a high lethality rate have become commonplace in the state of Rio. The escalation of violence has generated perplexity and revolt. We are overcome by a feeling of collective incapacity when we do not see prospects for a reversal, in the short term, of the critical point where...

The gradual increase in violence caused by confrontations between armed criminal groups and by police operations in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro (in this case, with greater scope and lethality) has terrifying effects for the populations of these regions. In a simple survey by the press on the...

“I can’t sleep. There is a woman stuck behind my eyelids. If I could, I would tell her to leave, but I have a woman stuck down my throat”. - Eduardo Galeano

I too have not been able to sleep for days. I have Marielle Franco stuck behind my eyelids. I have Marielle stuck...

The episodes that occurred in the last 15 days in Maré, with nine injured and four dead, seem to repeat themselves in a spiral. Upon hearing the reports of the violations, we are overcome by the same feelings of indignation and revolt as when we witnessed, in 2013, the deaths of 11 people...

“An assault rifle must be used in wars, in police operations in communities, and in slums. It is not a weapon to be used in urban areas”. Rodrigo Pimentel.

The comment highlighted above is from the public safety consultant Rodrigo Pimentel during the TV newscast RJ TV...

Violence against women, with an emphasis on sexual abuse that, in many cases, materializes in rape, is very common in Brazil. Given the seriousness of the fact, the attention that the topic has been receiving is positive, as well as the effort of many to break...

News of UPP entry in Maré, Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela, comes preceded by great speculation. After all, no one knows when or how it will be implemented. Thus, residents await confirmation with anticipation and apprehension. They understand that this initiative represents the...

The relentless fire that hit the National Museum, located at Quinta da Boa Vista, in Rio de Janeiro, on September 2018, deeply hurts and touches our soul. It is impossible not to think that a part of each of us Brazilians goes along with the fire. We regret the loss of years of our history. This...

The night of June 24 and the dawn of June 25, 2013 will be marked in the memory of the residents of Maré and the city of Rio de Janeiro for their sadness.

A group of agents from the Special Operations Battalion...

NGO directors fear that police action infringes the rights of residents

The police are conducting a warlike occupation at Maré, the largest group of shantytowns in Rio de Janeiro, home to 130,000 people in 16 different locations, and we watch this with a mixture of hope and...

In Brazil, policies and public opinion on issues related to illicit drugs occur mainly through criminal repression. This view, which translates into the “war on drugs”, has tragic consequences, especially for the populations of poor areas. In recent...

UPPs experience could be an improvement if government and civil society manage to incorporate citizen listening in the short term

In the first 55 days of 2014, we had at least 45 killed in police operations in Rio de...

What we need, at Maré and in other slums, is an integrated action of the State that respects the right to life of the residents and offers them opportunities to be active citizens

Rio – “Until when” is the title of the documentary made in 2005. In it, the failure...

Both suffer the same problems: they are defined through stereotypes and made into scapegoats, preventing the attribution of responsibility for social issues that no one wants to face. More than this, prejudiced views of favelas and cracolândias end up...

Rio has lived, for decades, under the sign of "urban war". Such a representation, however, more masks than explains a reality much more complex than its alleged struggle between forces of good against evil. As is known, the configuration...

The city of Rio de Janeiro is trying to untie one of the most intricate knots of Brazilian education: the identification of children 6-14 years of age still out of school and their return to the classroom.

The mission...

The recent murder of Osmar Paiva Camelo, one of the most active representatives of community associations in Maré, the largest set of favelas in Rio de Janeiro, worries those who follow the state's security policy, especially in so-called “pacified” communities.

In...

The incursions of the Military and Civil Police in some of the favelas of Maré, having as reference the last three months of 2017, call attention for the degree of truculence and also for the lack of transparency about the reasons that lead them there. They...