RobbP., A Death in Brazil (2003) 9 offers an etymology for the word ‘favela’ as: ‘In the remote hinterland of Bahia in the Northeast of Brazil, there was a rocky peak rising by a flat river bed called Monte Favella. At the end of the previous century, thousands of Brazilian troops had been sent from Rio and other places south on a terrible punitive expedition and they had camped on Monte Favella, which gave its name, after they came back, to the encampments of the poor on the spectacular hills of Rio.’
3.
Ibid. Peter Robb supports this commonly held view when he notes that: ‘Twenty years later [ie 2003] no outsider would dream of entering a favela without protection’.
4.
In order to protect my contacts the actual name of the favela has not been used. I also visited other favelas, including some in Salvador.
5.
The City of God is based on the novel of the same name by Paulo Lins, who himself, was born in a favela and formed the idea of writing the novel, while conducting research and interviews for anthropologist, Professor Alba Zaluar. Zaluar was investigating criminality in Brazilian favelas.
6.
The term, ‘Mayor’, seemed to describe an elected government agent, either State or municipal. My sources were circumspect about explaining more.
7.
The information that follows was given to me by my contact within the favela. For reasons of safety and trust, I cannot identify that person(s).
8.
ZaluarAlba, Traffic Networks in Rio (2001) 1 <www.india-seminar.com/2001/504/504%20alba%20zaluar.htm> at 5 August 2005. Zaluar notes that ‘[t]here has been a revolution in consumption patterns in Brazilian society: There are more consumer goods and shopping centres’. She sees cultural values having changed, becoming ‘more individualistic’ and demonstrating modern values such as ‘always seeking the best for yourself’. The ‘making of easy money’ has become a widespread value since the 1970s and she notes that ‘[d]rug traffic is part of this new social, economic and political environment.’
9.
‘Urbanised favelas’ have basic facilities such as electricity, water and a ring road for emergency vehicles.
VargasDaniela, a property lawyer/academic, in the Department of Law, PUC was one such lawyer: interview with Daniela Vargas (Oral interview, 29 June 2004).
13.
The issue of obtaining the drug lord's consent, support and approval for a range of activities in the favela emerged often. For example, if one wanted to hold a party, generally one could not do so in one's own home because there would be insufficient space so one would hold it in public space. If people did not complain, it was simply a party. If they did complain, it was a skirmish, settled by the drug dealer or bosses.
14.
Professor Anna-Maria Britto, Postgraduate School of Architecture, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Oral interview, 28 June 2004)
15.
ZaluarAlba, Violence Related to Illegal Drugs, Youth and Masculinity Ethos, [3] <http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/etext/violence/memoria/session_3.html> at 5 August 2005 observed that the risk of dying from violent causes was considerably higher amongst young male favela dwellers as compared with young male non-favela dwellers. She found, by reference to a study, dealing with death, violent causes, youth and favelas, that in Copacabana (a middle class district) with four favelas, the rate of violent deaths for males aged between 5 to 19 years was 3.1 per 100 000 for non-favela youth compared to 8.6 per 100 000 for favela youth. In Tijuca, another middle class district with many favelas, the rate was 4.2 per 100 000 for non favela youth compared with 16.9 per 100 000 for favela youth. In Madureira, a lower middle class area, the differential was even greater. The rate was 9.8 per 100 000 for non favela youth compared with 19.6 per 100 000 for favela youth.
16.
ZaluarAlba, Traffic Networks in Rio, above n 8, 6.
Alba Zaluar states that ‘Prison and police precincts are equated to “factories of bandits”. The justice system is propelled by money’: ZaluarAlba, Traffic Networks in Rio, above n 8, 4. In Salvador and in Iguassu (near the Missiones region of Argentina), locals also spoke to me of a culture of police corruption developing in the context of poor pay, available opportunities for graft and an expectation that law enforcers could not be relied upon to act honestly and fairly.
20.
The sense of the ‘law’ that governs Rio is demonstrated by the account in n 21.
21.
At Easter, 2004, fighting between two rival drug commands, over the leadership of the Rochina favela led to the blocking of the main road and tunnel in Rio, near Barra. A woman, travelling with her husband and two nephews refused to stop. She was shot dead. Rio was brought to a stand-still and many people were too afraid to leave their homes for several days. Police went into Rochina but it took about five days to quell the riot. Although the federal government offered to send in troops, the State government opposed the offer.
