The Money Trap: NGO Funding and Political Action in Brazil’s Favelas by Wendy Grace Muse Sinek A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science of the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor David Collier, Co-Chair Professor M. Steven Fish, Co-Chair Professor Laura J. Enríquez Spring 2012 . Abstract The Money Trap: NGO Funding and Political Action in Brazil’s Favelas by Wendy Grace Muse Sinek Doctor in Philosophy in Political Science University of California, Berkeley Professor David Collier, Co-Chair Professor M. Steven Fish, Co-Chair Does a strong civil society always develop politically engaged citizens? Other researchers have demonstrated a link between civil society and political participation, but I show that this connection is by no means inevitable. Some civil society organizations encourage citizens to participate in the political arena, but others do not. Drawing on data gathered through nearly 200 interviews with staff members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as well as participant observation of ten grassroots organizations spanning five favela communities there, I find that the organizations with the greatest financial resources are least active in politically relevant mobilization. A crucial component of citizenship is the right and duty to participate in political life, but most residents of Rio’s favelas suffer from “citizenship poverty.” Historical structural inequality, as well as the current influence of drug- and weapons-trafficking gangs, sharply curtail favela residents’ ability to exercise their rights as citizens, particularly with respect to collective action. Some favela residents have created small “social benefit” CSOs to address community needs, principally around issues of employment and health care. However, social benefit CSOs do not have sufficient levels of resources to mobilize, much less advocate for broader citizenship rights. “Golden” CSOs also work within Rio’s favelas. These large, well-funded organizations have a strong international reputation and could direct some of their resources toward collective action. In practice, however, golden CSOs undertake tame activities that pose no challenge to anyone in large part due to the “civil society resource curse.” Just as discovering oil is usually assumed to bring economic advantages to a nation, we might expect resource-rich golden CSOs to bring the most benefits to communities at the local level. Similar to countries rich in natural resources, however, golden CSOs are also dependent on a single source of revenue, usually grants from large foundations. In turn, the process of obtaining funding encourages golden CSOs to build elite-led, relatively isolated organizations that conduct donor-driven activities. Such an organizational profile is ideal for winning grants, but not for connecting citizens with the political arena. While many golden CSOs do good work within Rio’s most marginalized communities, they tend to avoid political activity and do not address the citizenship deficit that exists. With much smaller budgets and fewer tangible resources, grassroots “citizenship” CSOs seem to be unlikely candidates for galvanizing favela residents, yet these organizations are the 1 very ones that have taken the lead. Instead of focusing on grant funding, citizenship CSOs seek out many types of resources from multiple sources. In doing so, they face a different set of organizational incentives, which encourage local leadership, broad networks, and extraordinary flexibility in choosing their activities. Such an organizational profile allows citizenship CSOs to draw on their connections, credibility, and ingenuity to conduct political action targeting both society and the state. My analysis demonstrates that merely building civil society is not enough to guarantee a politically active citizenry. CSOs with singular and narrow resource acquisition strategies are particularly unlikely to pose challenges to the political status quo. In turn, donors who want to achieve social, economic, and political outcomes by building civil society should pay attention to the incentives present within the local context, particularly those that shape the funding arena. 2 For my husband Edward, and my sweet son James, …who fill my life with laughter, love, and joy. i Table of Contents Acknowledgements iii List of Figures, Tables, and Charts v Note about Referencing Interview Subjects vii Chapter 1 Introduction: Citizenship Poverty and Political Inaction 1 Chapter 2 Theoretical Insights and Methodological Approach 10 Chapter 3 Setting the Stage: Inequality, Gang Control, and 34 Their Effects on Civil Society Chapter 4 “Like an Ant Climbing a Hill:” 66 The Tenacity of Social Benefit CSOs Chapter 5 Golden CSOs, Ghost CSOs, and the 107 Civil Society Resource Curse Chapter 6 Avoiding the Money Trap: 152 Citizenship CSOs and Diamond CSOs Chapter 7 The Inadequacy of Good Intentions: 190 A Case Study of the “Enchanted Butterfly” Program Chapter 8 Claiming Citizenship and Influencing Power: 211 Three Case Studies of Politically Relevant Mobilization Chapter 9 Conclusion: Dismantling the Trap 247 References 259 ii Acknowledgements It is impossible to thank all of the people who have brought me to this point in my life and supported me in my work. My foremost debt of gratitude is to the favela residents of Rio de Janeiro, especially those who shared their stories with me and invited me into their communities. Everything I have written here is due to their generosity of spirit and time, which I can never repay other than to carry their stories forward. Preserving anonymity prevents me from naming individuals in full, but B, C, C, D, F, H, J, JB, L, M, N, O, P, R, R, T, TL, and V, thank you so very much for your insights, patience, and friendship. This research was carried out with funding provided by the P.E.O. Scholar Award. The Award not only gave me the financial freedom to go wherever my academic interests led, it also came with sustained encouragement from the inspiring women of the Berkeley P.E.O. Chapter, particularly Mary Ann Parachini. A Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, along with several field research grants from the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) at UC- Berkeley, allowed me to become fluent in Brazilian Portuguese and make multiple trips to Rio de Janeiro. CLAS’ Executive Director, Harley Shaiken, merits special thanks for his guidance. I am extremely grateful to the members of my dissertation committee, all of whom have helped me bring this project to fruition in complementary ways. David Collier fostered my intellectual curiosity from my very first year at UC-Berkeley. Steve Fish made insightful, critical comments on virtually every page of my dissertation and challenged me to produce my very best work, while expressing complete confidence in my ability to do so. Laura Enríquez generously shared her deep knowledge of qualitative research, and encouraged me to persevere through the most difficult moments in the field. Two additional, “honorary” members of my dissertation committee deserve special thanks. When I returned from Rio, Janice Perlman helped me transform the jumble of interesting but seemingly unconnected ideas in my field notes into a clear and focused argument. I am extremely grateful to Janice for her careful, line-by-line comments on the earliest drafts of my work. Jan Knippers Black has continually supported my academic endeavors from the day I picked up a copy of her book, Development in Theory and Practice, read it cover-to-cover, and then insisted on getting into her already-full graduate seminar. She has helped me find my voice as a public intellectual, challenged me to always say yes, and exemplifies the type of activist- academic that I hope to become. I also wish to thank the community of Brazilian scholars whose insights enhanced my knowledge of favela neighborhoods and Rio’s political climate. Marcos Arruda, Renato Boschi, Juliana Estrella, Juliana Farias, Jussara Freire, Márcia Pereira Leite, Edson Nunes, and Luis Antonio Machado da Silva all provided extensive feedback on my research design when it was clear I needed to change course, and I am grateful for our discussions. Special thanks also go to the administration and staff at the University Research Institute of Rio de Janeiro (Instituto Universitário de Pesquisas do Rio de Janeiro , IUPERJ) who provided me with an institutional affiliation as well as a warm welcome. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my fantastic research assistants. Liza Cirolia provided invaluable fieldwork support while I was in Brazil. Tabea Höfig taught me how to use Atlas.ti, analyzed data at lightning speed, and came up with my dissertation title. Vedika Ahuja, Priyal Bhatt, Taqwa Elhindi, Cheryl Iwamoto, Elizabeth Renee Kirk, Jacqueline Ngo, and Keiko Rosenbaum researched obscure topics at the drop of a hat, wrote clear and concise summaries of iii what they found, and made countless trips to the library. Maitria Moua and Robynne Lindsay also provided essential research support. They are all an are an amazing group of young women whose dedication and hard work made filing by the Spring 2012 deadline possible, and whose good cheer and friendship kept me in good spirits throughout. Many thanks also to the community of graduate students who study Latin America at UC-Berkeley. I am so fortunate to have had the benefit of their insights, feedback, and practical advice during each stage of the program. I would especially like to thank the members of the Latin American Working Groups in Political Science and in Sociology for helping me identify the aspects of my research that mattered most. Many friends and colleagues provided comments on this project; I am particularly grateful to Paul Dosh, Tasha Fairfield, Candelaria Garay, Veronica Herrera, Maiah Jaskoski, Diana Kapiszewski, Jody LaPorte, Danielle Lussier, Lindsay Mayka, and Jessica Rich for their feedback as well as their friendship.