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The Other Side of Rio
When Rio won its bid to host the 2016 Olympics, the government tried to crack down on crime in the most notorious favelas — is it just for appearances or a sincere effort for long-lasting change?
Photographs and text by Manu Valcarce

Since losing its capital status to Brasília in 1960, Rio has been in decline. Investment dried up, brains and businesses fled to arch-rival São Paulo and violence became endemic. The number of favelas, hill-side slums, grew exponentially. In these places, everything from traffic violations to murder seemed to go unpunished. The drug trade took hold. The city became divided into two different worlds.

In October 2009, Rio won its bid to host the 2016 Olympics. This set off a $10 billion+ (and growing) spending spree, focusing on athletic facilities but also including metro expansions, airport renovations and many more construction projects. Besides opening splashy new building, the authorities, spurred on by the progressive Mayor Eduardo Paes, are trying to crack down on crime. One such effort is to retake control of several high-profile favelas (the ones closest to major tourist sights, mostly). They did this by sending in battalions of special-operations police to remove the drug traffickers and then installed a community-based presence called “Pacifying Police Units”, or UPPs by their Portuguese initials.

Over the past five years, the program has shown mixed, limited success. While there are over 1,000 favelas surrounding Rio just 17 UPPs have been set up in 68 communities. According to the government, the results have been overwhelmingly positive. Yet in the favelas, people describe the police forces as unprofessional, corrupt, and sorely underpaid. In some cases, innocent people have been shot by police forces during crime-fighting efforts. The already strained relationship between police and populace is close to breaking point.

Regardless of their effect, the UPPs only address one problematic aspect of many. The residents continue to wait for improvements to their health care, education, water quality, transportation networks and, most crucially, employment opportunities. Real investment, aimed at fixing the broken public services or improving the economic outlook, has never materialized. These kinds of changes take time and money—and in this case, probably too much of both. Many believe that once the Olympics are over, the spotlight will move on and the favelas will return to what they were and what they will continue to be.

—Manu Valcarce

The view from Providencia, Rio's first favela. The state of Rio, which has a population of 15 million, witnessed 5,794 murders in 2009. For comparison, New York City, with a population of 8 million, had fewer than 500 murders during the same year. © Manu Valcarce
View of Rochinha. The number of favelas, the 1,000+ hillside slums that surround Rio, has grown exponentially in the last few decades. In this area, the Rio police had to borrow massive armored vehicles from the Navy in order to enter the neighborhoods with some measure of protection. © Manu Valcarce
Rocinha is located on a steep hillside, not more than a kilometer away from the famous beaches of Rio. Many residents were born and raised in the neighborhood and have no desire to be relocated. © Manu Valcarce
Rochinha has less and less infrastructure as one climbs higher. This is a laundry tub in one of the highest streets of Rochinha. Laundry tubs and still water are the main cause of dengue fever, a widespread illness in the favelas. © Manu Valcarce
A small garage over the main street in Rochinha. Rochinha is the largest slum in Brazil with over 200,000 residents but has only one main road where buses can transport people from bottom to top. © Manu Valcarce
Since October 2009, when the city won the right to host the 2016 Olympics, a host of construction projects have been unveiled across the city—museums, arenas, public works. The favelas, meanwhile, were sent "Pacifying Police Units." © Manu Valcarce
These police units, known as UPPs, were sent in remove the drug traffickers and instill a sense of authority. Yet the people describe the forces as unprofessional and corrupt. Rosangela Araújo, pictured above, has lived in Rochinha since she was a child. She only started locking her front door at night since the police arrived. © Manu Valcarce
Although government officials describe the streets as dangerous, the sense of community remains strong among the locals. Children are often seen by themselves, unattended, at any time of the day. © Manu Valcarce
Some residents report that delinquency has actually increased since the police came. With the drug gangs gone, the neighborhoods face a power vacuum and petty crime has become even more rampant. Still, these children listen to music on the steps of a grocery store in Rochina. © Manu Valcarce
Mangueira is another favela, just a stone's throw away from the world famous Maracana stadium. Many of the favela's residents are forced to do their laundry in the street, as their homes do not have running water. © Manu Valcarce
While the government claims that the UPPs are working, residents would disagree. Besides, the residents are hoping for more substantive changes, such as to their health care, education, water, transportation and employment opportunities. Above, a young teenager hangs out in the streets of Mangueira with nothing to do. © Manu Valcarce
Children play at the main entrance to Favela do Mangueira. Outside the neighborhood, the favela's youth are frequently confronted with social exclusion and limited employment prospects. This leaves them more suspectible to the lure of the drug trade. © Manu Valcarce
The residents of Mangueira face extreme levels of poverty and unsanitary living conditions. © Manu Valcarce
Mangueira continues to be raided regularly by the police, who are attempting to break the hold of a well-organized drug gang. The result is that the residents live in fear of getting caught in the cross-fire. © Manu Valcarce
The main river that divides City of God. The favela, made famous by the movie of the same name, remains unchanged since the UPPs arrived in 2011. The police haven't even set foot east of the river, where the drug gangs remain too entrenched. © Manu Valcarce
A road on the outskirts of City of God. Residents of this neighborhood are often forced to leave the favela to find basic goods, such as oil and foodstuffs. ©
City of God has over 65,000 residents. Amidst the chaotic environment, regular families attempt to make ends meet. © Manu Valcarce
A young girl stands at her front door in City of God. The future of the young women in the favelas is uncertain. A common perception in the community is that women need to get pregnant to find a stable partner. Thus, many women have children from different partners yet are denied a stable home. Several NGOs are working to combat this dynamic. © Manu Valcarce
Within this favela, the undereducated children are easy targets for gang recruiters. © Manu Valcarce
The symbol "CV" (visible in the back, in the group of 3 boys), stands for "Comando Vermelho," one of the three main drug cartels in Brazil. © Manu Valcarce
This latest attempt at pacifying the favelas is not the first attempt from the government to fight against the violence. City of God was founded in the 1960s as part of a plan to remove the favelas from Rio de Janeiro and relocate their residents far away from the city center. © Manu Valcarce
The name City of God was suggested by the politicians themselves, perhaps to motivate citizens to live in this remote area without infrastructure. Today, City of God has grown to cover 135,000 square meters. © Manu Valcarce
A young teenager rides a horse on one of the main streets on the east side of the river in City of God. Despite its size, City of God's educational system consists of one high school that provides evening classes. © Manu Valcarce
A hair dressing salon in Dona Marta, another favela. Private enterprises are rare inside the favelas and are often limited to small groceries stores. © Manu Valcarce
A view of Rocinha at night. "The process is only sustainable if you are capable of reducing poverty and inequality," says Andre Urani, executive director of the Institute for Studies on Work in Rio. © Manu Valcarce

Manu Valcarce

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