J. Lat. Amer. Stud., Page of © Cambridge University Press doi:./SX Accumulation by Forced Removal: The Thinning of Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas in Preparation for the Games
JAMES FREEMAN* and MARCOS BURGOS
Abstract. In this article we argue that the pacification of strategic Rio de Janeiro favelas is a case of what David Harvey calls accumulation by dispossession, allowing for capital accumulation at multiple scales. Drawing on multi-year participant observation, we seek to show the particular form that this process takes as it works through Rio’s social and spatial structures. Unlike the mass removals of the s and s, favela families have more recently been displaced through a process of thinning, in the context of a neoliberal development programme centred on a series of mega- events. Removal is carried out through a combination of threats, promises, disinforma- tion, and the intentional generation of insecurity that together constitute a form of psychological terror.
Keywords: favelas, mega-events, evictions, accumulation by dispossession
Introduction ‘When Brazil won the Olympics no one here went out to celebrate’, explained Francicleide da Costa, then president of the residents’ association of the Favela do Metrô. Instead, the jubilation of Lula and Pelé in Copenhagen in October presaged a campaign of terror against this resolute community of
James Freeman is an assistant professor in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment at Concordia University in Montreal. Email: [email protected]. Marcos Burgos is a Rio de Janeiro based activist and independent researcher. He recently received his PhD in sociology from the Graduate Center, CUNY. Burgos is a long-time Rocinha resident. Email: [email protected]. * James Freeman would like to thank Christopher Gaffney, Helena Galiza and Gilmar Mascarenhas for their support during the research and writing of this article. Marcos Burgos would like to thank the residents of Rocinha, particularly José Martins de Oliveira, José Ricardo Ferreira, Maria Aparecida da Silva, Maria Helena de Carvalho and the commu- nity group Rocinha sem Fronteiras, as well as Maurício Campos dos Santos and Rafael Soares Gonçalves for their wisdom, guidance and support during the research and writing of this article. Interview with Francicleide da Costa, president, residents’ association Favela do Metrô , July .