Leeds February 2014

My research

What happened!

As jornadas de junho

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup

7th of September

Teachers strike

Practices of resistance

Alternative media

Popular assemblies

the Black Bloc

Ocupa

Occupy

Are we winning?

What it is next?

Being in Brazil in a revolutionary time

Notes from a field work in Rio de Janeiro

Federico Venturini

ml10fv@leeds.ac.uk

Supervisors:

Sara Gonzalez

Paul Chatterton

Cities and Grassroots Urban Initiatives: a Social Ecology Approach

Marcelo Lopes de Souza, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

27 March 2013 – 5 August

27 September – 27 January 2014

How the movements are addressing the urban crisis, how are they struggling?

• Social Ecology as a lens.
• Importance of Solidarity (Aboriginal activists group,1970; Galeano 2003; Milstein 2010)
• Understanding possible intersections, differences between Western and Latin American experiences (Motta 2012)
• Process of decolonizing knowledge (Ramnath 2011)

My research

Rio de Janeiro:

• Context (a bit of)
• What happened! (few bits)
• Practices of resistance
• Are we winning?
• What it is next?

Urban resistance and contestation in Latin America. A view from Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, Leeds - 19th February 2014

Rio de Janeiro

Cidade Maravilhosa

Marvelous City

vanderlan.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/rio-de-janeiro_continualindo.jpg

June 2013: protest against increases in bus, train and metro ticket prices

stildefteri.com/wp-content/uploads/Rio-de-Janeiro3.jpg

References

FIFA World Cup 2014 - 12th June to 13th July 2014

General election (President, the National Congress, state governors and state legislatures) - 5th October 2014

Inhabitants tot.6.305.279 (2010)

Inhabitants in favelas 1.092.476 (2001)

Linked with many other issues:

• social inequality
• mega events (FIFA world cup 2014, Olympics Game 2016)
• favelas
• indios and other minority groups
• right to the city
• privatization
• corruption
• political reform
• ...

8th of Agust- 24th of October

• first after many years
• against new liberal project of education
• large popular support
• people who used BB tactic are their students

Strikes also in bank and mail sectors

Many general problems:

• social inequality
• transports
• health care
• school system
• security
• absence of a city planning
• evictions
• environmental crisis

General deterioration of living conditions (Santos 1993; Souza 2001)

Socio-political fragmentation of urban space (Souza 2001; Souza 2003)

National Independence Day

Traditional demonstrations in all the country

"Grito dos Excluídos" (Cry of the Excluded)

Rio de Janeiro:

social movements managed to enter and disrupt in the military parade heavy repression, police trow gas on the bleachers

15th-30th of June, 6 cities

• demonstrations before/during/after each game
• FIFA got scared

Rio de Janeiro, last day:

• two demonstrations
• fracture in the movement
• activists resistance more organized

Strong and manipulator corporate media

Alternative media deconstruction it worked

• activist in streets/home
• production of photo, video, articles, satire
• help to organize
• recorded the excesses of the police
• used as legal evidence

Online streaming of demonstrations and events

• interaction video-maker / 'public'

two big Occupy style encampment:

• Ocupa Cabral, in front of the house of the Governor in Leblon, 2 months
• Ocupa Camara, inside and outside the City Council, Cinelândia, 2 months

other examples: Ocupa Lapa, Ocupa ALERJ, Ocupa Aldeia, Ocupa UERJ, ...

• a base for demonstrators for assembly and action
• strong visibility in society
• work with homeless
• banned by law

• ticked prize blocked (momentarily)
• law against homosexuality and abortion blocked
• president offer a Referendum on political reforms (blocked by the Congress)
• saved some building impacted by demolition

• opened a space for political discussion in society
• more people politicized

• changes still on minor things
• political-economic system refrain from a deep change
• 11 protesters died
• recent death of a cameraman
• heavy criminalization of social movements

'real' change?

• a tactic
• inspiration from abroad
• developed in response to police repression
• aims to protect demonstrators
• use of direct actions
• shield for self protections
• destruction of symbol of capitalism (e.g. banks)

Core of the Movement

Structured as:

0. information

1. agenda

• evaluation
• new actions
• political importance of moderator
• decision by majority
• consensus procedures and hand signals are getting space (e.g. Assembleia do Largo)

Assemblies with 100-200 people

Movement and neighborhood assemblies

In open/closed spaces

rioprarua.noblogs.org

ml10fv@leeds.ac.uk

contested-cities.net

(Graeber 2008; Turbulence Collective 2010)

Aboriginal activists group, Queensland, 1970s. [online][accessed: 19.02.2014] Available at: http://unnecessaryevils.blogspot.com.br/2008/11/attributing-words.html

Galeano E., 2003. [online][accessed: 19.02.2014] Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ugandanet@kym.net/msg05039.html

Graeber, D., 2008. The Shock of Victory. Rolling Thunder, (5).

KINNA, R. (ed.) 2012. The Continuum Companion to Anarchism. London : Continuum International Publishing Group.

Milstein, C., 2010. Anarchism and Its Aspiration. Oakland: AK Press and the Institute for Anarchist Studies.

Motta S. 2012, Leyendo el anarchismo a través de ojos latinoamericanos: Reading Anarchism through Latin American Eyes in KINNA, R. (ed.) 2012. The Continuum Companion to Anarchism. London : Continuum International Publishing Group. Pp 252-277.

Ramnath, M. 2011. Decolonizing Anarchism. Oakland, Edinburgh : AK Press.

Santos, M. 1993 2013. A urbanização brasileira. San Paolo : Ed Usp.

SOUZA, M. L. de 2001. The Brazilian Way of Conquering the “Right to the City”. DISP, 147, 25.

Souza, de, M. L. 2003. ABC do Desenvolvimento Urbano. Rio de Janeiro : Bertrand Brasil.

Turbulence Collective, 2010. Turbulence Book: What Would it Mean to Win?. Oakland : PM Press.

Center zone 296.400

South zone 1.009.170

North zone 2.400.148

West zone 2.614.728

2010 Census

Millions of people in the streets

Urban social movement

Coordinated mobilization in all the country (fortuity?)

Comparable (or bigger) that demos from Diretas Ja 1984 or Collor impeachment 1992

22th of March eviction of the Aldeia Maracanã

www.quierobrasil.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/mapa_cidade_rio_de_janeiro.jpg

Center zone South zone

North zone West zone

1.bp.blogspot.com/-QEmNSHgLPBs/UlgZSb-ejZI/AAAAAAABsqY/h2SUBqdp_Wo/s320/midiaalternativa.jpg

4.bp.blogspot.com/-uLiyfjUK_oc/UulR9RQKUDI/AAAAAAAABZg/uhWOs40paLg/s1600/direitos2.png

pt-br.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=611114908923340&set=a.611092752258889.1073741826.610831915618306&type=1&theater

brasil.indymedia.org/images/2010/10/479460.jpg

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Zoneamento_da_Cidade_do_Rio_de_Janeiro.svg/2000px-Zoneamento_da_Cidade_do_Rio_de_Janeiro.svg.png