The Americas
Brazil's developing favelas
Searching for Eldorado
Jul 12th 2010, 15:43 by J.P. | SÃO PAULO
“TURN right at the supermarket,” the passer-by advises. The driver, irredeemably lost, winds down the paved road, bumps onto a dirt track, passes what looks like an allotment of bananas, and at last wends his way to the right address, which is the Association to Help Young People at Risk (ACER), an NGO in Eldorado, on the distant edge of São Paulo. The directions themselves seem natural until you remember that Eldorado is one of the poorest and most violent favelas in South America’s largest city, and favelas are not supposed to have even one supermarket, let alone two as this one does. The growth of a consumer market here is one of the clearest signs that the absolute division between favela and ordinary city is breaking down.
Favela means "self-built". But for years, the one thing favela residents could not build were proper shops—shops, that is, linked to supply chains outside the settlement and which sell goods supplied by commercial wholesalers. Favela residents looked askance at outsiders, and outsiders were still more wary of favelas—poor, violent, often controlled by drug gangs and lacking banks or organised financial networks. Favelas therefore frequently had no organised commercial operations. For years, says ACER’s secretary-general, an Englishman called Jonathan Hannay, there was nothing at the central intersection of Eldorado.
Yet now, looking down from his office window along the main street, you see a kaleidoscope of painted shop fronts: a chop shop, an internet café (one of 60 in the favela); two hairdressers, three pizzerias; a seamstress; a shop for party items; a Pentecostal church. Strange noises float from the church: an exorcism, apparently. Residents go about their daily business. “All this has appeared in the last few months,” Mr Hannay says.
The bank made all the difference. Last year, Bradesco, one of Brazil’s large retail banks, finally set up a branch. “It took 17 years,” Mr Hannay says. “We got 5,000 petitions to open the branch, and 75 businesses promised to keep their money in the bank.” In the past, if Eldorado’s residents had a bill to pay, or wanted to transfer money to their families, they had to go to Diadema, the next, bigger, settlement along the São Paulo periphery. The bus ride costs 5 reais ($2.85), so if the bill was 50 reais, it cost 10% of the value of the bill to pay it. Not surprisingly, there was no credit and no organised commerce.
Eldorado is still the poorest part of São Paulo state, and its poverty is attracting the attention of Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is visiting the favela next week to open a housing project. With a monthly average per-capita income of just 245 reais, Eldorado has only a quarter of the national average income, and only a third even of Diadema’s 717 reais a head.
Yet Diadema shows the direction that Brazil’s poorest urban slums are heading. Fifteen years ago, Diadema was a by-word for crime and violence, attracting the attention of the Braudel Institute, a think tank which described its problems in a series of influential reports. Now, Diadema, with its busy city centre and bustling streets, is hard to distinguish from any other part of São Paulo. Casa Bahia, Brazil’s largest white-goods company, says its branch in Diadema generates more revenue per square foot than any other in the country. Eldorado has a long way to go before it achieves that sort of consumer. But at least it is on the same path, not lost on some dirt track.
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It is not like that...
Where did those people came from?
Northeastern Brazil biggest part, comes for São Paulo to try getting a better life, have children and the situation perpetuates.
House project in São Paulo is to treat the symptom but not cure the disease.
Brazil need to develop the northeast.
Eldorado is the poorest part of São Paulo state because there are only favelas in Eldorado.
Diadema is a big city with several favelas where a monthly average per-capita income is the same of Eldorado.
Diadema city also achieves all consumers from Eldorado because is nearby.
What kind of statistics garbage !
Eldorado is only 7 miles far from the president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva family’s home in São Bernardo do Campo city.
But only next week, after 8 years as president, is time to open a housing project. Only one more project - there are thousands from this year - because the next October election.
But money never was a Brazil’s problem: US$ 4,000,000,000 for the poor people of other countries donated by president Lula’s generosity…
De Barros wrote:
"My blood boils when I read the rants coming from the conservative extremists from Brazil, on how to dispose of the people living in places called Favelas. For this people it should be very easy to relocate millions of people to places without infra structure, schools, and jobs, as long as they stay far away from their beloved neighborhood, which happens to be at the very economic centers of Brasil."
Why do favelas got that big to begin with?
Why do rich Brazilians attend Uni for free?
Why Brazil is a Statism country? The record shows that Statism is
a failure. Why perpetuate the mistake???????
If Hong Kong, China and the U.S. (Chicago's Cabrini Green) have relocated the poor to proper apartments with running water, electricity and working sewage, why can't Brazil?
It can only be the indifference from the previous governments, and
the lazyness ("Sustainable Slums" mentality) of the current Brazilian
government.
Just to explain, self built houses (wooden), and concrete = self-built houses (stone made)
Process takes about 20 years.
That happens all the time, new districts rising anexed by São Paulo prosperity.
Self built houses, then electricity, sewer system (takes very long time - sometimes doesn't happen), then shops, then asphalt, then concrete.
My blood boils when I read the rants coming from the conservative extremists from Brazil, on how to dispose of the people living in places called Favelas. For this people it should be very easy to relocate millions of people to places without infra structure, schools, and jobs, as long as they stay far away from their beloved neighborhood, which happens to be at the very economic centers of Brasil.
I do not know what people like that think. They do not say it out loud, but for sure they do not believe that the residents of Favelas are human beings like them. If one remembers the movie “District 9”, just replace the city of Johannesburg by Sao Paulo, and the Aliens, by “Favelados” and you will have a perfect picture of what the conservatives, from the self proclaimed Brazilian elite, want to do.
I think that even Hitler would be ashamed of you guys.
Anyway, with the proper investment in infrastructure; full time elementary, middle, and high schools; as well as health care facilities, these places that so much annoy the members of the “elites”, in time will become decent districts to live. And that is happening right now as the Economist has found. Breaking with the tradition of governing only for the 1% wealthiest Brazilians, the actual Brazilian government is trying to do improve the living standards of the Favelas, despite the barrage of calumnies and accusations with no proof coming form the conservative sectors of the society.
Fortunately, despite their tremendous economic power, the self called elites, are a minority in the country. The Brazilian people, even under a flood of misinformation from the conservative media, in most cases have been able of electing representatives that take their best interest in mind.
Some years ago I was introduced to a few couples that had left the Northeastern drought areas, installed themselves in some of Rio's favelas, sought and found health services ready to provide them with family-planning assistance. Not much more educated than the average migrants, they were nonetheless determined to improve their living standards. They eventually succeeded. And they left the favelas in search for modest but decent housing, as well as access to night school.
I don't know what percentage of the favelados those couples represent. But they certainly show that some domestic planning can help. And planning presupposes a different mind-set. How you school people to adopt such a mind-set remains a mystery to economic development students.
Some years ago I was introduced to a few couples that had left the Northeastern drought areas, installed themselves in some of Rio's favelas, sought and found health services ready to provide them with family-planning assistance. Not much more educated than the average migrants, they were nonetheless determined to improve their living standards. They eventually succeeded. And they left the favelas in search for modest but decent housing, as well as access to night school.
I don't know what percentage of the favelados those couples represent. But they certainly show that some domestic planning can help. And planning presupposes a different mind-set. How you school people to adopt such a mind-set remains a mystery to economic development students.
"Favela" is a common name for some species of plant found in brazilian northeast. "Morro da Favela" or "Favela Hill" appears in literature for the first time in "Os sertões", a book written by Euclides da Cunha about the War of Canudos (1893–1897). It was the name of a hill nearby the rebel community of Canudos that had a lot of these plants.
After the war, the soldiers returned to the city of Rio de Janeiro, that was at the time the capital of Brazil. Some of them - who were very poor and had no place to live - settled at a hill that also became known as "Favela". Today it is known as "Morro da Providência".
In time, more slums arose in Rio's hills. And "favela" became the common name for all of them.
Rick Melo said: "James AntiBr: It's funny how you make it all sound as simple as razing a hill from your Sim City landscape and then see your talks about disdain and indiference torwards the population."
Hong Kong (boat people in Fragant Harbor, China (Beijing) and Chicago (Cabrini Green) have relocated slum dwellers into
planned communities with proper electrical and plumbing fixtures
and all sorts of infrastructure. Brazil is too lazy, too corrupt,
and too indifferent to do the right thing. It is possible to raze
and relocate. It is just a question of will.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/content/articles/3632/images/hutong_destruc...
See photo 26 (sorry that the last posting the link did not opened)
It is possible, but Brazil's government is nothing but a bunch of
'gente vil.' (left or right wing, take your pick)
James AntiBr: It's funny how you make it all sound as simple as razing a hill from your Sim City landscape and then see your talks about disdain and indiference torwards the population.
I agree with Fabio in that there has been no jobs and no serious opportunities for social mobility which caused this grave problem
over many decades.
Rick Melo wrote: "I agree with the 'socialist minded' people - as Fabio puts it - when it comes to policies towards ‘favelas’. As a matter of fact, incorporating them to the city is the only feasible course of action."
The problem is that the "Elites" and "High Level" government officials are too lazy to raze the favelas. It is easier to perpetuate the problem than to fix it.
Therefore, the despicable term 'Sustainable Favela' has been coined by those "Brilliant Intellectual minds." My question is this:
What branded products those "Brilliant Brazilian Intellectual Elite minds" have created for the world??????? They don't let others prosper and still call themselves Elite and Dignitaries when they are not.
The bottom line: The labels from "Right" to "Left" have not changed the inherit disdain Brazilian in high places (government and private
sector) have towards a big chunk of the population. Statism and the
culture that revolves around government being the core of the country
gave birth to the favelas, mass poverty and the lack of upward mobility to masses.
As evil as the Chinese are considered by some (no human rights,
no democracy, etc), the Chinese have uprooted their Hutongs (favelas)
and paid its former inhabitants to live in a proper housing complex.
(see photo 26 of the link below)
http://www.opendemocracy.net/content/articles/3632/images
Even if Brazil had a 6 trillion dollars economy, it would be very unlikely that they would duplicate the Chinese government in providing better housing for the most poor.
Now, the question is: "Is Brazil the kind of country you would like
to be making rules, or have a seat on the Security Council?
A country that treats its people with disdain, indifference, and
downright contempt making rules upon billions of people outside
its border? Think about it and let everyone know what Brazil is all
about. Sink the ship before it launches. Brazil does not deserve
a seat on the Security Council or a voice in the WTO, DOHA, etc. etc.
I agree with the 'socialist minded' people - as Fabio puts it - when it comes to policies towards ‘favelas’. As a matter of fact, incorporating them to the city is the only feasible course of action. Belo Horizonte, for instance, has a decent policy for that matter, the "Vila Viva", which brings ‘favelas’ to become part of the city, paving the existing roads and building wider ones, allowing public transit to thoroughly cover them. On top of that, and most importantly, new housing projects have been implemented for those dwelling risky areas. Therefore, not only does government intervention play an important role in optimizing consumer market growth, but it also potentiates it since most of the workforce employed for the works in the ‘favelas’ are locals.
Anyway, it comes as no surprise the magazine's negligence on the issue.
For more on Vila Viva:
http://abccnews.blogspot.com/2008/11/belo-horizonte-council-wins-metropo...
Favela means “self-built”?! I’m Brazilian and that’s the first time that I read such garbage in my life and, as far as I know, this affirmation has absolutely no etymologic foundation.
Favela formation is very complex. I would say that basically the causes for favela formation are:
1 – The continuous exodus of destitute people from the countryside to the cities in search of a better life, better education, better opportunities and higher income. Unfortunately in Brazil these people expectations are rarely met and they never get out of the favela.
2 – In Brazil there is no house share like in cities like London and the cost of renting proper accommodation is too high, even after the newcomers find jobs which are, invariably, of low pay.
3 – There is no social service in Brazil to help with housing costs like we find in the more developed countries, especially in Europe, where the State pays for accommodation.
In short, favelas are the result of city overcrowding. In many aspects London also has some regions that could be called a favela, the difference is that it doesn’t have the same appearance as the ones in Brazil.
The socialist minded people in Brazil have decided that the favelas should be incorporated into the city instead of eradicated.
In my point of view, the solution to this problem is to improve social mobility with economic policies to foster a dynamic and open economy with education, training and opportunities for all, and financial instruments to help the poor to buy their own property. Also, bring more development to the countryside to keep people from migrating to the city.
Unfortunately this solution cannot be implemented in Brazil because our education system has very low standards, training is very bad and opportunities are non-existent. To make matters even worse, our corrupt politicians have much to gain in keeping the poor in poverty, dependent of their favour and easily led.