University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Architecture and Planning ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 3-28-2019 PLANNING FOR PROTEST: THE SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF CIVIL RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL Nora Lamm University of New Mexico - Main Campus Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/arch_etds Part of the Latin American Studies Commons, Political Science Commons, and the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Recommended Citation Lamm, Nora. "PLANNING FOR PROTEST: THE SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF CIVIL RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL." (2019). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/arch_etds/141 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Architecture and Planning ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Nora Lamm Candidate Community & Regional Planning, Latin American Studies Department This thesis is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Thesis Committee: Renia Ehrenfeucht., Chairperson Jennifer Tucker Cassy Dorff i PLANNING FOR PROTEST: THE SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF CIVIL RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL by NORA LAMM B. A. INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND GEOGRAPHY THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Dual Master of Arts Community and Regional Planning/ Latin American Studies The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico May, 2019 PLANNING FOR PROTEST: THE SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF CIVIL RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL BY NORA LAMM M.A., Community and Regional Planning/ Latin American Studies, University of New Mexico, 2019 B.A., International Studies and Geography, Middlebury College, 2012 ABSTRACT This research project seeks to better understand how protests of varying sizes take place in public spaces, focusing on the city of Rio de Janeiro. The relationship between cities and protests has increasingly gained importance as urban areas throughout the world become epicenters for demanding greater political rights and expanded notions of citizenship (Harvey, 2003) (Vicino, 2017). Understanding the dynamics of protest in Rio de Janeiro is particularly important as the city struggles to overcome a financial crisis following nearly a decade of hosting international mega-events including the 2016 Olympics. Unstable funding has led to a public security crisis as the city grapples with a surge in criminal violence and a national corruption scandal. The combination of these problems has placed enormous pressure on civil society to stand up against injustice and communicate demands from the most underrepresented sectors of society. Protests are an essential tool of civil society, but their effectiveness often depends on the ability to access and move through urban spaces. Using qualitative data from interviews with activists and the distribution of an online survey, I evaluate how space matters for protests in Rio. This iii paper explores the different strategies used to perform protests in public spaces, overcome spatial challenges or restrictions, and communicate messages of dissent. iv Contents Chapter I: Does Space Matter for Rio’s Activists? ....................................... 1 CHAPTER II: CITIES, PUBLIC SPACES, AND PROTEST ...................................... 8 Theories of Social Change ..................................................................................... 8 Cities as the setting for protest ............................................................................. 13 Public Space Theories and the Latin American Regional Context ........................ 18 Local Context: Civil Resistance and Public Space in Rio de Janeiro .................... 24 Civil resistance movements in Brazil ................................................................... 24 How protests play out in the public spaces of Rio de Janeiro ............................... 32 Policies that shape the use of public space in Rio ................................................ 38 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................... 42 Online Survey Method ........................................................................................ 47 Observation Method ............................................................................................ 48 Limitations of the Methodology .......................................................................... 50 Chapter IV. How space challenges and benefits Rio’s activists .................. 52 How and why activists choose specific locations for protests ............................... 56 The Challenge of Geography ............................................................................... 65 Disrupting Spaces of Power ................................................................................. 71 Choreography of Activism .................................................................................. 75 Experiences of Repression or Societal Pushback/ Relationship with Police .......... 82 Interviews with Urbanism and Architecture Professors and Professionals ............ 86 CHAPTER V. SPATIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR ACTIVISTS AND PLANNERS ....... 90 What do Rio’s activists tell us about protests in urban space? .............................. 90 Relevance to Activists ......................................................................................... 94 Relevance to Urban Planners ............................................................................... 98 Continuation of this research in the future ......................................................... 100 APPENDIX ..................................................................................................... 102 REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 109 v List of Figures Figure 1 Protesters after the murder of Councilwoman Marielle Franco’s murder. ..................... 30 Figure 2 The coffins of Marielle Franco and her driver arrive at Rio’s city hall .......................... 31 Figure 3 A protest marking the one-month anniversary of Franco's murder.. .............................. 31 Figure 4 Two main locations where CDD members host events ................................................. 57 Figure 5 Praca Manoel Campos de Paz, another CDD event location. ........................................ 58 Figure 6 The annual gay pride parade in Copacabana ................................................................ 60 Figure 7 The Grupo Arco Iris march along Avenida Atlantica in Copacabana ............................ 62 Figure 8 The Grupo Arco Iris march ......................................................................................... 62 Figure 9 Participants in the Rocinha em Foco protest walk along Avenida Niemeyer. ................ 69 Figure 10 The Brigadas Populares protest on Leblon beach ....................................................... 73 Figure 11 Marcha da Maconha along Ipanema Beach in May 2018 ........................................... 77 Figure 12 Marcha das Vadias (March of the Sluts) on Avenida Atlantica ................................... 78 Figure 13 A street party during Carnival 2018 ........................................................................... 81 Figure 14 A street party during Carnival 2018 ........................................................................... 81 Figure 15 Neighborhoods and Regions of Rio de Janeiro ......................................................... 102 Figure 16 Copacabana por Direitos e Direitas places of protest ................................................ 103 Figure 17 Marcha das Vadias route of protest in Copacabana .................................................. 104 Figure 18 Neighborhood of Marca das Favelas pela Legalizacao in relation to downtown Rio . 105 Figure 19 Route of protest and location of activity for Grupo Arco Iris Pride March ................ 106 Figure 20 Route of Protest for 2018 Women’s March .............................................................. 107 Figure 21 March for the Legalization of Marijuana, Ipanema .................................................. 108 vi Chapter I: Does Space Matter for Rio’s Activists? “Change Life! Change Society! These precepts mean nothing without the production of an appropriate space” – Henri Lefebvre in The Production of Space (1974) “…vamos colocar um ponto final em todas as formas de ativismo no Brasil” (“we will put an end to all forms of activism in Brazil”) – Jair Bolsonaro, PSL candidate for President, 2018 Every February the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil prepares for their largest event of the year, carnaval, and the city temporarily stops their normal routine to participate in the revelry. The most iconic part of the celebrations take place at the sambódromo, which is a monolithic concrete amphitheater stretching nearly half a mile long with capacity for 90,000 spectators while millions watch the event broadcasted nationally and internationally. The highly competitive escolas da samba (samba schools) showcase their carefully designed 80-minute samba performance which they begin rehearsing for a year in advance and usually involve the participation of a minimum of 2,000 performers per school (Fabiano, 2018). This year, a little-known samba school called Paraíso