Rochina Favela Visit

Forty percent of Cariocas (residents of Rio) live in unpermitted, unplanned areas known as favelas.  These are improvised communities, but to think of them as shacky crime-ridden slums is not quite accurate.  These are the working poor: 90% of favela residents migrate in from northeastern Brazil for urban jobs and opportunities.   Our group toured Rochina favela, which is very strategically placed for jobs between downtown and the so-called expansion area, and well-served by bus lines.  Rochina has a population somewhere between 70-90,000 people, and its relationship with the City government is still very new.  Many favelas are essentially run by drug lords, who look after everyday concerns, and when the City arrests the kingpins and takes control, as happened in Rochina less than 2 years ago, there is ambivalence as to who might be the better caretaker of neighborhood interests.  Property rights can be established in many instances after 5 years of squatting, but then taxes must be reckoned with as well.

Rochina now has a hospital, schools and a cultural center.  There is new public housing through the federal Mi Casa Mi Vida program. A new sewer system is 80% completed.  One big challenge is that 93% of the housing is accessible only by narrow footpaths.

Our tour guide explained that many residents are employed in the construction trades, so that-- while housing materials may be cheap by necessity--construction methods are often sound and solid.

On our tour, we found lively businesses and kids being kids.  A DJ and a political stumper were keeping it real on the street.  There are mosaic wall murals and garden areas created by residents, and a pedestrian overpass designed by 104-year-old Brazilian uber-architect Oscar Niemeyer links one end of Rochina with other areas.  There is even a store of art and crafts of recycled materials done by residents, confirming the creative life force in this improvised community.