HISTORY

Rio de Janeiro is a big city in the South-East of Brazil and is the state of the

same name’s capital. 6,1 million habitants live in Rio, they are called Cariocas.

This city is known worldwide for its carnival, beaches, and the very infamous

statue of the redeeming Christ.

Rio de Janeiro has a rich and diversified history, marked by a succession of

cultural, political and social events.

The current site of the city of Rio de Janeiro was discovered on January 1st

1502 by portuguese explorers led by Gaspar de Lemos. It was January and the

explorers thought they were discovering the mouth of a river, so they named

the site of Guanabara Bay Rio de Janeiro ("Rivière de Janvier" in French). At

the time, before the arrival of the Europeans, the site was inhabited by

indigenous tribes such as the Tupinambas or the Garani Indians. The

indigenous tribes then started trading with the portuguese explorers.

Until 1565, French and Dutch pirates and freebooters often attacked the town.

To repulses these incursions, the Portuguese built several fortresses and

Estácio de Sá founded the town of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro. That’s

when the portuguese kindgm really took over the region, in 1565. The city

soon became a strategic point for trade and the transit of colonial Brazil's

wealth.

Rio de Janeiro was the capital of colonial Brazil from 1763 to 1960, with the

exception of the period from 1808 to 1821 when Naopoleon’s troops invaded

Portugal and the Portuguese royal family and nobility took refuge in Brazil and

settled in Rio de Janeiro. The capital of the Portuguese kingdom was then

transfered from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. This period was marked by

significant cultural developments and the construction of many important

buildings.

On September 7th 1822 the empire of Brazil declared its independence from

Portugal. And Rio remained the capital of the new Brazilian state. Rio started

devolopping a lot. For instance, coffee cultivation expanded. Rio developed

gas, plumbing, hydroelectric power stations, telephones and telegraphs.

The city was the scene of major abolition movements in the 19th century. In

1871, the Emperor Dom Pedro II imposed the Rio Branco law ("free womb"

law): any child born of a slave mother is born free. But the law was little or

poorly enforced. Deputy Joaquim Nabuco, a leading Brazilian abolitionist,

presented an abolition project with a social program in 1880. The program was

adopted only in 1888 and slavery was then officially outlawed. This led to a

major migration from the countryside to the city of Rio de Janeiro. That’s when

Rio’s first favelas, called Shanty Town, was actually built.

On November 15 1889, the Republic of Brazil was proclaimed after a coup

d'état. It overthrew the constitutional monarchy of the Empire of Brazil and

ended the reign of Emperor Pedro II. It was a republic with few rights (no

elections), because the rulers wanted to retain economic and political power.

This so-called republic was overthrown by a coup d'état in 1930. It marked the

end of the Old Republic and the start of the New Republic with more rights.

In the early 20th century, Rio de Janeiro experienced rapid growth and major

urban change. Indeed, millions of people have migrated from rural areas that

have suffered from drought, lack of services and unemployment to Rio. People

do this to search for a better quality of life. This expanding population has

resulted in the rapid urbanisation of Rio de Janeiro.The city hosted the Rio

Conference in 1906 which ended with the signing of the Rio Grande Water
Sharing Agreement. It marked the beginning of its role in international events.

The Earth Summit in 1992 was also a big event being held in Rio. It was

separated in 3 conventions : the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations

Convention to Combat Desertification.

The second half of the 20th century saw the construction of Brazil's new

capital, Brasília, in 1960. Although Rio de Janeiro lost its status as capital, it

remained one of the country's most important cities, particularly as a cultural

and tourist center. Indeed, Rio serves as a hub for Brazilian music, cinema and

literature, nurturing many of the nation’s celebrated artists and thinkers.

Rio de Janeiro has hosted several major events, including the FIFA World Cup

in 1950 and the Summer Olympics in 2016. However, if the Olympincs brought

Brazil and mainly Rio de Janeiro more fame and recognition than they already

had, the FIFA World Cup did not have a very positive impact on the country.

Indeed, he Brazilian government invested $15 billion in the games, and

expected a final gain of five times that investment, along with the creation of

millions of jobs. This was just hopeful speculation, as the World Cup's impact

on the economy was “very low.” And there was a lot of pushback from many

Brazilians.

Today, Rio de Janeiro is known for its natural beauty, iconic beaches such as

Copacabana and Ipanema, and annual festivities such as the Carnival, one of

the world's biggest.

 GEOGRAPHY

Introduction

So now that we talked about Rio’s history, we are going to talk about its favelas.

The favelas of the city of Rio de Janeiro are characterized by a complex history, social and

economic challenges, and persistent scars. These informal neighborhoods, often built on

steep hills and lacking basic infrastructure, face problems such as poverty, violence and

lack of access to essential services.

How Rio de Janeiro's favelas can overcome these challenges and work towards positive

transformation?

We will answer this question in 3 major points : what’s a favela, what problems do they

face in Rio de Janeiro and how can they fix these problems or what have them done to try

to do so.

Favelas are informal neighborhoods characterized by spontaneous urbanization and fast

population growth... In Rio de Janeiro, they emerged in the early 20th century as a

response to the social and economic disruption of the time. The term "favela", originating

in Brazil, has its origins in an invasive plant, symbolizing the rapid and disorderly nature

of the growth of these communities.

Originally, favelas were often neglected areas, steep hills with difficult access, where

excluded populations, mainly from rural migration, built improvised houses. They were

excluded from official urbanization plans and public investment, leaving favela residents

in precarious living conditions.

Over the decades, the growth of Rio de Janeiro's urban population has amplified these

difficulties. The favelas were once a spontaneous response to housing difficulties but

now it’s just a concentration of populations in an environment favorable to the spread of

diseases.

In addition, favela residents face complex socio-economic challenges. Access to

education and formal employment opportunities is limited, contributing to the

perpetuation of a cycle of poverty between generations. The social segregation

associated with favelas also impacts on self-perception and opportunities for social

integration.

Rio's favelas face many challenges. One of the most important of these is the poverty and

precarious living conditions in these neighborhoods. Indeed, housing is often built

illegally and lacks basic needs such as running water and reliable electricity. This poverty

increase the vulnerability to bad weather and health challenges of these neighborhoods.

Moreover, the presence of gangs and associated violence are major challenges. Favelas

are often considered high-risk areas due to rivalries between criminal groups and a

sometimes contested police presence. Residents live in a constant climate of insecurity.

In addition, they have limited access to education and healthcare. This is due to the

underfunding of schools and medical infrastuctures and their insufficient presence. The

access to quality services is very restricted for the inhabitants.

What's more, favela residents face severe social discrimination. The negative perception

that often surrounds these neighborhoods contributes to discrimination in areas such as

employment and education. This stigmatization not only limits the personal development

of residents, but also undermines efforts to revitalize and improve living conditions.

However, many programs have been launched by the government, NGOs and the

communities themselves to try and put an end to these defficulties the favelas are faced

with.

Over the decades, the Brazilian government has launched several programs aiming at the
improvment of living conditions in the favelas. They created urban renewal projects to
improve infrastructure, provide access to water and electricity, and rehabilitate housing
like the Favela Bairro that improves infrastructures and public services. These initiatives
aim to improve the quality of life of favela residents.. However, the effectiveness of these
projects is a subject of debate because the government doesn’t know what the favelas’
residents actuallly need.

Local and international NGOs are involved in a variety of initiatives. Some focus on
education, establishing schools and providing educational resources, while others
concentrate on health and offering medical services. These organizations often play a
crucial role in filling the gaps left by government institutions.
There is for example the “Favela Project” here that offers education training to both kids

and adults to break the cycle of poverty or, similarly, the Favela Ai Isso” program. These

programmes help to provide learning opportunities and promote the development of

talent in Rio's favelas.

Favela residents themselves have initiated projects to improve their living conditions. For
example, they created housing cooperatives and community entrepreneurship programs
to encourage local economic empowerment. They encourage educational and vocational
training programs which are essential to breaking the cycle of poverty by offering
educational and professional opportunitie to the residents of the favelas.

Finding ways to deal with the favelas problems in Rio de Janeiro but also in Brazil in
general is an on-going and very difficult task due to the constant change of our society
and its needs and priorities but it’s essential to building a fairer and more egalitarian
society.