‘Não são tijolos; são histórias’: The Favela Housing Rights Movement of Rio de Janeiro Jennifer Ashley Chisholm Department of Sociology University of Cambridge This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy King’s College February 2019 To my family and to those who struggle for justice [ii] Declaration This thesis is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. I further state that no substantial part of my thesis has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It does not exceed the prescribed word limit for the relevant Degree Committee. Jennifer Chisholm February 2019 [iii] Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my parents who have been a constant source of support and understanding. I also thank Jeff as well as all my advisors and teachers that have helped me along the way. I am grateful to the people who lent me their stories and appreciate the kindness of friends, acquaintances, and strangers who helped me through the challenges of fieldwork. I thank attentive audience members at conferences, willing friends, and anonymous reviewers for their feedback. Finally, I would like to thank the Royal Geographical Society, the Department of Land Economy, and the Department of Sociology at Cambridge for providing funding for this project. [iv] ‘Não são tijolos; são histórias’: The Favela Housing Rights Movement of Rio de Janeiro by Jennifer Chisholm Abstract: My doctoral research consisted of fourteen months of fieldwork following anti- eviction activity within informal settlements called favelas on public land in Rio de Janeiro. In the dissertation, I make a series of arguments. The first is that despite a lack of scholarly attention post-2016 Olympics, Rio is experiencing its own favela housing rights movement, land rights, and government investment in upgrading projects that deserves academic attention. Implied in the term is a concomitant fight for land rights—both of which are needed to avoid eviction. Secondly, I explain how government officials and others antagonistic to favela housing rights use environmentalist discourse to justify evictions of informal settlements—charging them with being ‘invaders’ that spoil the natural habitat of the city. In response, favela residents have re-appropriated the discourse of environmentalism to position and re-brand themselves as conservationists instead of ‘invaders’ as one of two alternative strategies to avoid eviction. Thirdly, and regarding the second alternative anti-eviction strategy, I explain how those against favela housing rights view favelas as places without culture or history that do not need to be saved from eviction. To subvert this narrative, residents have created favela museums and initiated tourism enterprises to prove that their communities have cultures and histories that are worth preserving. The fourth and fifth arguments correspond to the gender, class, and racial implications of these alternative strategies as interpreted through emotional politics. I argue that women (the predominant demographic in the movement) feel they must justify their leadership positions and participation in the movement by engaging in what I call performative vulnerability. Lastly, I explain how residents interpret the common justifications for favela removal (i.e. environmental destruction, favelas as places without history) as being truly about classism, and to a lesser extent racism. I contend that the general lack of awareness about the role of racism in favela evictions stems from the lingering ambivalence towards racial categorisation and the false belief that Afro-descendants do not face discrimination. This research engages with academic debates on the forced eviction of informal settlements, housing rights versus environmental rights, identity politics, and contributes to the literature on urban land and housing movements. [v] Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 11 Problem Statement, Research Question, and Contribution to Literature................................... 14 Federal and Municipal Housing Policies .................................................................................... 17 Urban Citizenship and Forced Evictions of Favelas .................................................................. 20 Is land regularisation necessary? ........................................................................................... 28 Dissertation Outline.................................................................................................................... 33 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 34 Chapter 2 Literature Review: Urban Anti-Forced Eviction Activism, Identity as Rebranding, and Emotional Politics ........................................................................................... 37 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 37 Sociology of the Excluded: The Fight for Urban Housing Rights .............................................. 37 Women and housing rights movements ................................................................................. 44 Identity as Rebranding: The Role of Environmentalism and Heritage in Land Rights Struggles .................................................................................................................................................... 47 Similarities with indigenous land rights movements ............................................................. 47 Housing rights versus environmental protection and environmentalism as strategy in informal settlements................................................................................................................ 49 Heritage as resistance ............................................................................................................ 56 Affective and Emotional Politics in Activism: Race, Class, and Gender ................................... 57 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 59 Chapter 3 Methodology .............................................................................................................. 61 Research Philosophy ................................................................................................................... 61 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework .................................................................................... 63 A Note on Terminology ............................................................................................................... 66 Research Approach and Practise ............................................................................................... 68 Access ......................................................................................................................................... 72 [vi] Ethical Issues and Research Limitations ................................................................................... 73 Introducing the Communities ..................................................................................................... 75 Featured communities ........................................................................................................ 77 Literature review of featured communities ........................................................................ 87 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 89 Chapter 4 The Favela Housing Rights Movement of Rio de Janeiro ..................................... 91 Introduction: On Favelas ........................................................................................................... 91 The Basis of the Movement: Fighting For, Fighting Against ................................................... 97 Legal Options for Preventing Eviction and Ideal Outcomes of the Movement ....................... 101 Structure of the Movement: Faith over Politics ..................................................................... 102 Challenges of Organising in the Favela Housing Rights Movement ........................................ 107 The Benefits of Organising ...................................................................................................... 116 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 119 Chapter 5 Where the Favela Meets the Forest: Environmentalism as Political Strategy .. 121 Introduction: Greening Rio .....................................................................................................