Affective Re-Territorializations in Contemporary Urban Disputes
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Minhocão: affective re-territorializations in contemporary urban disputes Minhocão: reterritorializações afetivas nas disputas urbanas contemporâneas Eliana Rosa de Queiroz Barbosa [I] Cintia Elisa de Castro Marino [II] Abstract Resumo This paper presents a case of urban dispute to O artigo apresenta um caso de disputa urbana, show how a new political body has been affectively demonstrando como um novo corpo político tem occupying the spheres of participation since the ocupado afetivamente as esferas de participa- uprisings that occurred in Brazil in June 2013. ção desde as manifestações brasileiras de junho Minhocão, the target of this urban dispute, is de 2013. O Minhocão, alvo dessa disputa ur- an elevated highway located in the city of São bana, é uma via expressa elevada, localizada no Paulo. Inaugurated in 1970, it has been informally município de São Paulo, inaugurada em 1970 e occupied by the inhabitants of its surroundings ocupada informalmente pelos moradores do en- since the 1980s. Using the notion of “affective torno desde a década de 1980. A partir da noção re-territorializations” (Hutta, 2019), the article de “reterritorializações afetivas” (Hutta, 2019), o analyses how the rise of conservative and artigo analisa como a ascensão de campos afetivos progressive affective fields are reshaping spaces in conservadores e progressistas estão remodelando the contemporary city and, ultimately, influencing espaços na cidade contemporânea e, em última ins urban projects and public policies. Through the tância, influen ciando projetos urbanos e políticas analysis of primary and secondary data, the article públicas. Por meio da análise de dados primários e demonstrates that this space, which used to be the secundários, o artigo demonstra que esse espaço, target of informal appropriations, has become the outrora alvo de apropriações informais, passou a symbol of an affective dispute, being constantly re- ser símbolo de uma disputa afetiva, sendo constan- -signified, alternating progressive and reactionary temente ressignificado, alternando ideologias pro- ideologies. gressistas e reacionárias. Keywords: protests; affection; Minhocão; urban Palavras-chave: manifestações; afeto, Minhocão; dispute; re-territorialization. disputa urbana; reterritorialização. Cad. Metrop., São Paulo, v. 23, n. 51, pp. 519-545, maio/ago 2021 Artigo publicado em Open Acess http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2236-9996.2021-5104 Creative Commons Atribution Eliana Rosa de Queiroz Barbosa, Cintia Elisa de Castro Marino Introducing Minhocão object of associactivism groups and urban appropriations, awakening diverse (conflicting) and its urban dispute socio-political constellations, embodying an increasing urban dispute and, ultimately, The elevated highway popularly known as influencing urban projects and policies. Minhocão is a three and a half kilometer The demonstrations of June 2013 saw long inner-city expressway, elevated five the political body occupying the public sphere, meters from the ground, cutting through exposing Brazil’s political divide and paving three different neighborhoods in downtown the way to an increased presence of emerging São Paulo, Brazil. Since its construction in conservative groups in public debates.2 the early 1970s, under mayor Paulo Maluf’s Similar processes of discontent happened mandate1 during the military dictatorship, this simultaneously in many countries, pointing brutal concrete-made piece of infrastructure to a generalized disbelief in the traditional faced opposition due to its visual, social and systems of representative democracy and economic impacts (Artigas et al., 2008). In the emergence of right-wing populism. This 1976, it first was closed to motorized traffic conjuncture suggests that representative in the nighttime, in response to mounting democracy is being challenged amid popular pressure and, from 1989 onward, neoliberalization processes3 at large and their an executive decree issued by the left-wing consequences materialized in space4 (Santos, Workers’ Party (PT) mayor Luiza Erundina 2015; Pinson and Journel, 2016; Bauman and defined fixed weekly closure times. Since Mauro, 2018). then, it has been informally appropriated for The recent urban dispute over Minhocão leisure activities by surrounding residents, implies the emergence of a new phenomenon, embracing different territorial meanings and intertwining civic participation and new forms interpretations (Barbosa, 2012; Marino, 2019). of occupation of the public realm (in a wider This research aims to interpret the recent sense) in the Brazilian cities. Taking on the urban dispute involving Minhocão, triggered case of Minhocão and the dispute around by Bill 10/2014, aimed at changing its elevated its future, we explore a hypothesis that the highway status within the legislative and urban uprisings of the early 2010s changed administrative bodies of the city. We see this how different actors position themselves, both dispute as one of the many affected by the physically and virtually, in the public realm political polarization that has been mounting (Carlos, 2014; Pinto, 2017; Monteiro, 2018). since the Brazilian demonstrations of June 2013. This paper aims to shed a light on the Colored by different actors that urban dispute that culminated in the executive have been occupying multiple spheres of decision of formalizing the occupation of participation since the protests, this paper Minhocão, turning it into a park. It also documents the increasing speculations documents and analyzes how these (online that unfolded into this urban dispute. and offline) affective performances have Since 2012, a sequence of events placed mobilized the dispute within the official Minhocão at the center of discussion, as the channels of participation and in the public 520 Cad. Metrop., São Paulo, v. 23, n. 51, pp. 519-545, maio/ago 2021 Minhocão: affective re-territorializations in contemporary urban disputes space in question. We present how progressive the dispute, analyzing how the different and conservative agendas (aimed at expanding stakeholders positioned themselves in relation and restricting rights, respectively) were to the public policies and projects. The fourth pushed forward by means of affective section reveals how contemporary bold affects performances, arguing that this exemplifies are re-territorializing spaces in the city and how the conservative and progressive bold ultimately influencing projects and policies. affects (Hutta, 2019) of contemporaneity are re-shaping spaces in the city and, ultimately, influencing projects and policies . The body in the city: social Methodology-wise, the paper articulates the narratives and actions of the groups media, uprisings, and the involved in this dispute, especially founders contemporary urban dispute and active leaders, involving participant observation in the events described, in-depth The censorship and persecution promoted interviews with stakeholders and members of during the military regime in Brazil (1964- the different groups, as well as analysis of their 1985) had strong cultural, artistic and social institutional discourse supporting this dispute. impact, affecting particularly how Brazilians Additionally, we consulted and analyzed official relate to the different instances of power, use documents generated during the dispute, such the different instances of public participation as bills, and transcripts of public hearings and and, ultimately, occupy public spaces. The administrative processes. Since a great deal use of public spaces during this time was of the dispute occupied online spheres, we controlled. Any public demonstration of revised online publications, discussion forums discontent was obstructed or banned over and social media posts from the different two decades. Protests resurfaced in the 1980s groups and movements involved. The online with the democratization process, a period interaction also involved understanding how marked by the action of workers' unions, the different groups interacted with traditional urban and rural social movements, which media pieces reporting on the dispute. Data presented a complex organizational structure. collection occurred within different periods In this context, guidelines for claiming the between 2011 and 2018. right to the city were brought up with the aim This paper is organized in four sections, of reversing social inequalities. It would be in addition to the introduction and the the right to human emancipation. Since then, conclusion. First, we explore how the 2013 social movements have been struggling to urban protests in Brazil conceptually framed strengthen public services, social protection the contemporary urban dispute involving and labor regulations (Lefebvre, 1972; Souza Minhocão. Second, we present the emerging and Rodrigues, 2004). social constellations, the rise of different Following a global trend, along the late associactivisms acting on the urban dispute of 2000s and early 2010s, Brazilian mobilizations Minhocão that started with the consultations clearly intensified with the advent of online for Bill 10/2014. The third section frames tools (Wisnik, 2016). All sorts of different civil Cad. Metrop., São Paulo, v. 23, n. 51, pp. 519-545, maio/ago 2021 521 Eliana Rosa de Queiroz Barbosa, Cintia Elisa de Castro Marino society organizations emerged in São Paulo, They are part of the several uprisings of the framed here as associativisms (broadly studied early 2010s that emerged all over the globe. by Hirst, 1994, 2001; Cohen and Rogers,