Favela News Digest Archives
Our regular RioOnWatch News Digest compiles, in one place, the latest news and opinion on Rio’s favelas from our community news site RioOnWatch, as well as what broader news sources have to say on Rio’s current favela trends. It’s the best summary of English-language favela news compiled anywhere on the Web.
View past digests by clicking on the links below or view all CatComm mailings here.
2024:
September 1-October 15, 2024: 100 Favela Solutions RELEASE | Rio Elections Coverage | 5 Favela Councillors | Brazil on Fire | City Demolitions Are Back | Twitter (X) Ban
August 1-31, 2024: What’s Behind Brazil’s Olympians | Favela Fire | CLTs as Climate Solution | Agroecology | [Finally] Disappearing Maids’ Quarters | Lesbian Memories
July 1-31, 2024: Women Heroes | Olympic Underbelly | Jackfruit Trails | Favela Griot Against Eviction | Bulletproof Memories | Capoeira Sublime Art | Decriminalization
June 1-30, 2024: Historic Energy Advocacy | Localization Primer | Power of Grassroots Journalism | A Month Into Brazil’s Worst Eco Disaster | Two Years Without Dom
May 1-31, 2024: Favelas for Just Transition | Mothers’ Pain | Silvery Rain | Remarkable CLT Women | Brazil’s Devastating Floods
April 1-30, 2024: Marielle Killed for Defending Housing Rights | Militias 101 | Urban Indigenous | Afro-Indigenous Victories | Fast Fashion Latest Culprit | Paris ’24
March 1-31, 2024: Marielle’s Killers Arrested | Black Women Against the Apocalypse | Worsening Water Access Amidst Heat and Rain | Favela Heritage Market Closed
February 1-29, 2024: Carnival Beyond the Sambadrome | Climate Anxiety in Favelas | Diverse Voices Across Movements | Cerrado at Risk | Brazil Politics on Fire | Freedom
December 1, 2023-January 31, 2024: Best Reporting on Favelas ’23 | ‘Favela’ Now Official | It Isn’t the Rain! | Youth on Water Justice | CLT Now Law in Rio | Favela Rivers | Amazon News
2023:
November 1-December 7: Favela CLT Turns 5 | Pejorative Label Revisited | Peripheral Literature | Dangerous Heat | Women in Politics | Favela Communications Pioneer
October 1-31: Urban October | Favelas as Heritage | Grassroots Media | Poetry Slam | Teaching on Africa | City as Hostage | Amazon Drought & Wetlands on Fire
August 1-September 30: Favela Climate Memory | Grassroots & Solar Solutions | Threats to Informal Work & Housing | Amazon Beef on NY Stock Exchange | ‘Monkeys’ Theater
June 1-July 31: Victory for Favela CLTs | Exchange Among Indigenous, Favela, Quilombola Leaders | Water/Energy Justice Course Doc | 1 Year Without Dom & Bruno
April 1-May 31: Packed City Council Fights for CLTs | Energy Efficiency & Justice | Brazilian Harriet Tubman | #StopFavelaStigma in #FakeNews | COP 30 in Brazil
March 1-31: Bloody Media | 5 Years Without Marielle | Rio Climate Strike | Love as Tool | Vidigal Eviction Threat | Favelas Guarantee Art | Rainless Amazon?
January 16-February 28: Meet Anielle | Peripheries at the Center | Brazil Climate Disasters Foretold | Culture As Solution | Indigenous and Amazon in Leadership and Crisis
2022:
December 1-January 15 (2023): Best x Worst Media on Favelas 2022 | Sustainable Favelas Meet Up | Representation Matters | Lula’s Cabinet | Unpoliced Terror in Brasília
December 1-January 15 (2023): Best x Worst Media on Favelas 2022 | Sustainable Favelas Meet Up | Representation Matters | Lula’s Cabinet | Unpoliced Terror in Brasília
November 1-30: FNA Award | Favela Votes and Lula Mandate | COP27 from Brazil | 45th Anniversary of Path-Breaking Vidigal Resistance | Rio de Janeiro Wetlands
October 1-31: Brazil Election Today: Special Reporting from Our Team | Criminalization of Favelas | Housing as Political Chess | Hopeful Signs | Favela Newspapers
September 1-30: Brazil Elections Special | Rio Governor Race | Time for the Amazon | Favelas Research Water and Energy | Terreiro Teachings | Indigenous Protectors
August 1—31: Housing Victory | Brazil Elections 30 Days Away | Black Representation | 50% Food Insecurity | Hillside Favelas and Climate | Amazon Producing CO2
July 16—July 31: Climate Justice in Favelas | Brazilian Education | Deadliest Governor | Inequality | Environment and Protectors in Danger | National News: Elections
June 1—July 15: Remembering Dom | Global Repercussions of Favela Bio-system | Memory as Advocacy | Hunger Story Map | Climate as a Human Right
May 1—31: Favela Sewage Is Cleanest | Police Massacre Dozens | Climate Catastrophe | Favelas Inspire Hope Through Funk, Gardens | Affirmative Action
March 1—April 30: Analysis of Best Reporting Is Out! | Torrential Rain | Favelas Going Green By the Day | Video Voices of Favela Reporters | Affirmative Action At Risk
February 1—28: RioOnWatch Wins Anthem Award for Anti-Racist Reporting | White Privilege, Toys & Art | Justice for Moïse | 100 Favela Solutions | Petrópolis Landslide
January 1—31: Omicron in Favelas | 1200 Troops in Jacarezinho | Rio’s Anti-Racist Civil Society | Homage to Elza | Evictions Despite Ban | Lula Returns | Big Beef
2021:
November 1—December 31: Favelas at COP | Energy and Water Justice | Gardens | Unjust Urban Planning | Color of Mobility | Resistance in Arts & Housing | Pandemic Education
October 5—31: Rooting Anti-Racism | Brazil Worse Off | Favelas Double | Hope on Police Brutality | CLTs Reviewed by City Council | Theater as Transformation
September 1—October 4: Black Lives Brazil | Sustainable Favelas | Upgrading Pyramid | Amazon & Water Crises | Land Rights
September 15: Celebrating 21 Years of Catalytic Communities
July 11—August 31: Olympic Underbelly, Racial Victories Amidst Police Violence, Energy Justice in Favelas, Deforestation Tipping Point, Covid Corruption Scandal
June 8—July 10: RioOnWatch Turns 11: Police vs. Courts | Energy Justice | Favela CLTs | Indigenous and Disappeared Rights | Covid-19 Corruption | A Hurting Nation
May 8—June 7: Food Sovereignty in Favelas | Jacarezinho Massacre at 1 Month | Energy Justice | Covid Across Brazil | Indigenous and Conservation Right
April 10–May 7: UPDATE ON BRAZIL CRISIS: Hunger from Covid-19 | May 6 Massacre | Marielle | Energy Efficiency & Solar Favelas | Black Academics | Black Heritage
March 20–April 9: Hunger Preys on Favelas | 4k Daily Deaths | Back to School? | World Cup Evictees Now | Covid in Indigenous North | Anti-Racist Affirmative Action
March 6–19: Marielle Legacy: Black Women Lead Change | Black Filmmakers Discuss ‘City of God’ | Memory Blackouts | Homelessness Amid Covid | Deaths Soar in Brazil
February 15–March 5: Mobilization Day Against Covid | Favela Green Roof | Every Rio Train is a Bit of a Slave Ship | No Carnival | Funk Criminalized | Brazil Covid Crisis
January 30–February 14: How Favela Residents View Racism | Anti-racist Podcast Launch | ‘Vaccines for Favelas, Now!’ | Recreating Roots | Waste is Gold
January 19–29: Black Children’s Literature Empowers | Vaccines Arrive in Rio Favelas | Energy Insecurity | Rooting Anti-Racism Podcast | Calls for Impeachment
December 11, 2020–January 18, 2021: HOT OFF THE PRESS: 2020 Breakdown of Best & Worst Reporting on Favelas | Rooting Anti-Racism | Energy Justice | 10 Years of ‘Pacification’
2020:
November 3–December 10: Today—Covid-19 in Favelas Press Conference | Guide to Museums & Memory | Black Feminist Pioneers | Favela Sustainability Endorsed | Municipal Election
October 4–November 2: Rio Mayoral Candidates Commit to Favelas | Who Does Favela Research Serve? | Quilombos | Water Rights | Black Women vs. State Violence | Pandemic
September 20–October 3: Privatization of Water and Sanitation | Covid Lethality in Favelas as Rio Reopens | Municipal Elections Heating Up | To Be Black in Brazil
September 5–19: Police Occupation is New Normal | Favela Bunker of Potential | Pyramidal Approach to Upgrading | Hidden Pandemic | Occupation Evicted | Pantanal Burns
August 23–September 4: Hidden Covid Stories | Grassroots Campaigns | Artisans | Pandemic Memory | Mothers Fight State Violence | Antiracist Housing | Environmental Threats
August 8–22: Brazil Housing Rights Threatened | Behind Covid Favela Numbers | Afro-Brazilian Sacred Site Protected | Reflections on Abolishing Police
July 24–August 7: Resilience Amid Pandemic | Marielle | Acari Massacre | Landmark Case on Police Ops | Sanitation Solutions | Housing Threatened | 100K Covid Deaths
July 8–24: Favela Covid Action | Organic Food as Right | Eviction Amidst Covid-19 | Brazilian Racism | Solar Energy | LGBTQ Pride | Zero Emissions | 2M Cases
June 12–July 7: Covid in Favelas Dashboard Launch | Grassroots Action on Covid | Favela Leader Obituary | Pandemic Worsens as Brazil Reopens | Amazon Hard Hit
May 18–Jun 11: Brazil Hides Covid Data | Grassroots Mitigation | Black Lives Matter in Rio | Teach-Ins Share Favela Solutions | Police Killings Soar | Waste Pickers
April 30–May 17: Growing Crisis | 7 Media Mistakes Covering Covid | Massacre Amidst Pandemic | Severe Underreporting | Block Captains | Price of Inequality
April 4–29: Covid-19 in Favela Daily Life | Privilege of Isolation | Empty Fridges | Residents Act to Protect | 3D Shield | Violent Policing | President’s Denial
March 22–April 3 – Special Issue: Covid-19 in Favelas: Community Organizing and Perspectives | Prevention | Impacts | National Context
February 22–March 21: Coronavirus in Favelas | Marielle Legacy 2 Years On | Agroforestry | Favela Vs. Asphalt | Rio’s Unique Housing Public Defenders | Deadly Rains
February 12–21: Activist Favela Tours | Carnival Takes a Stand | New Report on Public Security | Favela Purchasing Power | Brazilian Racism Global
January 25–February 11: Greening Favelas | Water Crisis + Faucet Necropolitics | Marielle Murder Suspect Dead | Police Killings Soar | Trans Visibility | Unmaking Brazil
January 15–24: Best & Worst Int’l Favela Reporting | Solar Advocacy | Pyramidal Approach to Informality | Tokyo Resistance | Rio Water Crisis | Evangelicals & Drugs
December 1, 2019–January 14, 2020: Belonging and Potency | ‘Discontinuous Continuity’ of Favela Upgrading | Landslide Mitigation | Eviction Threat | Public Safety | Amazon + Brazil News
2019:
October 29–November 30: Sustainable Favela Network Meet-Up | Call It Genocide | Inspiring Solutions | Black Awareness | Peripheral Arts | Brazil Politics | Fires and Oil
October 10–28: Favela City Planners | Landslide Mitigation | Urban Ag | Kite Festival | Rio-Berlin Lessons | Depriving Youth of Life | Racism | Oil Spill
September 21—October 9: Growth of Global CLT Movement | Ágatha Shot by Police | Children’s Rights | Eviction | Upgrading | Media Activism | Indigenous Tribes Threatened
September 1–20: Positive Favela News | Traveling Museum | Urban Guinea Pigs | Families Impacted by Police Violence | Amazon and Climate Change
August 6–31: Bottom-Up Favela Sustainability & Culture | Governor Witzel’s Lethal Policies | Amazon Burning | Olympic Resistance Takes Off | Global Land Rights
July 23–August 5: 4th Black July | Hunger Is a Feminine Noun | Favela Arts | ‘NOLympics Anywhere’ in Tokyo | Sanitation | Amazon at Risk | More Car Wash Leaks
July 7—22: Favelas Are Coding | Poetry Slams | Mega-Event Eviction Consequences | University Access | Afro-Brazilian Storytellers | Enough Violence
June 18–July 6: Hunger on the Rise | Affordable Housing | Favelas and Universities | Federal Security Policies, Rights, Democracy
June 4–17: Announcement: NYC Visit |+| Women’s Rights | Black Storytellers | Floods | Daily Survival | Security Observatory Network | CarWash Leaks | Amazon
May 18–June 3: ‘Stop Killing Us’ Protest | Grassroots Solutions | Graffiti Museum | Upgrading and Land Rights | National Policies
May 4–17: Aftermath of Rio Rains | Sustainable Favela Network | Reflections and Actions Against State Violence | Students Take to Streets
April 13–May 3 – Special Issue: World Press Freedom Day: Lessons in Olympic Resistance | Housing | Indigenous Struggle | Sanitation | Rio as Lab for Control | Policies for Potency
March 30–April 12: Rains Wreak Havoc in Favelas + How To Help | Body-Territories | Waste Policy | Solar | Sustainability Certifications Questioned | State Violence
March 23–29: Urban Gardening | CLTs and Civil Rights | Public Security | Massacre Remembrance | Mega-Events Contestation | National News
March 16–22: World Honors Marielle | Building with Landslide Risk | Bullets From Helicopters | Militias | L.A. Teacher’s Strike | Bolsonaro Visits US
March 2–15 – Special Issue: One Year Without Marielle | Carnival Is Resistance
February 16–March 1: Undervaluation of Informality | How Evictions Impact Women | Vila Autódromo Pressures City | Solar Energy | Snipers in Manguinhos?
January 31–February 15: Devastating Rains | Police Massacres 15 | Favela Representatives in Office | Affirmative Action | Anti-Eviction Organizing
January 1–30: Best/Worst International Reporting | Intimate Portraits | Indigenous Resistance | Necropolitics | Marielle, Militias and Bolsonaro
2018:
December 1–29: GRAND FINALE: Sustainable Favela Network Launch | Favela CLT Workshops | Democracy and Urbanization
November 18–30: First Eviction Since Olympics | Environmental Ed + Race | Global Marielle Legacy | Dictatorship in Democracy
November 3–17: Favelas Tackle Landslides and Heat Islands | CLT Workshops | Quotas | Electoral Influences | Olympic Resistance
October 29–November 2: Sustainable Favela Network | Ultra-Right President and Governor Elected | Campaign Strategies
October 20–28: Special Issue: Considerations as Brazilians Head to the Ballot Box Today
October 13–19: Sustainable Favelas | Polarizing Elections + WhatsApp | Marielle Resists
October 5–12: Favela CLTs | Elected Favela Candidates | Fears of a Far-Right Brazil
October 4 – Special Issue: Brazil Elections: Presidential Proposals, Favela Candidates, Participation Tools
September 8–23: Favela Candidates & Solutions | Vila Autódromo Chapter | 6 Months w/o Marielle
September 1–7 – Special Issue: National Museum in Flames
August 11–31: Vila Autódromo’s Resistance, Questioning Informality, ‘Slum’ Etymology, CLTs Globally, Collective Health
July 22–August 10: Land Rights Victory, Resignifying Favelas, Black July, 35 Political Parties, Black Men in Office
July 14–21: World Cup, Eviction Tactics Dissected, Understanding the Favela Vote, Fathers Say Enough!
July 7–13: Marielle, Malala, Militias, and a March for Justice
June 30–July 6: Black Men & Technology, #FavelaLivesMatter, Favela Literature, Mega-Event Legacies
June 24–29: Black July Organizing, Participatory Metropolitan Planning, World Cup and Favelas
June 16–23: Favelas as UNESCO Sites, Contrasting Discourses on Eviction, ‘Sustainable Turn,’ Deadly Police Operation
June 9–15: 3 Months Without Marielle, Race, Planning, Entrepreneurship, Corruption, Mega-Events, Safety
June 2–8: Marielle Letter to ‘Bastard Students,’ Favela Poetry Slam, Occupations, Land Use & Evictions
May 26–June 1: Our Work in ‘O Globo,’ Favela Organizing & Solutions, CLTs in P.R., Congo Refugees in Rio
May 19–25: Quilombo, Indigenous & Favela Organizing, Favela Tourism & Representation, Police Accountability
May 12–18 – Special Issue: Museum Week 2018: Favela Museums of Resistance, 130 Years After Abolition
May 6–11: RioOnWatch Turns 8, Occupations, Policy Debates, Favela Tourism, Black Resistance
April 28–May 5: Marielle Bills Pass, Monitoring Crivella, Raull Santiago Interview, Evaluating Military Intervention
April 14–27: Floods and Evictions, Green Sustainable Favelas, Who Killed Marielle?, Electioneering 101
April 7–13: Favela Opinions on Lula & Marielle, Organizing Victories, Tourism, Brazil Politics
March 31–April 6: Favela Activism and Resistance Through Culture, Drug Trade and Politics, Marielle’s Legacy
March 10–30: Marielle’s Legacy, Favela Culture, Eviction Threats, Military Intervention, Zero Poverty
March 18 – Special Issue: Marielle Franco’s Assassination and Legacy
March 3–9: Land & Housing Struggles, Art & Memory, Military Intervention, Sustainable Favelas
February 24–March 2: Favela CLTs, Countdown to 2018 Elections, Military Intervention, Brazil’s Digital Divide
February 17–23: Political Carnival, Military Intervention, Favela Responses, Olympic Resistance, ’18 Elections
February 10–16: Carnival 2018, War on Popular Culture, Pool Party Protest, Sexism, Politics & Funk
January 30–February 9: Carnival 2018, Favelas Respond to Violence, Communication Rights, Valuing Informality
January 13–19: Media Portrayal of Favelas, Community Voices on Police, Funk & Masculism, Utility Hikes
January 1–12: Culture & Housing Struggles, Trafficking+Corruption, Olympic Legacy, Public Education
2017:
Dec 16-29: Best/Worst International Reporting 2017, Facebook vs. Evictions, Favela Solutions, Drug Policy
Dec 9-15: Public Security, Stray Bullets, Sustainable Carnival, Fashion Stereotypes
Nov 25-Dec 8: Insurgent Cartography, Power of History, Right to Housing, Healthcare, Olympic Legacy
November: Special Issue–Black Awareness Month in Brazil
Nov 18-Nov 24: Powerhouse NGO in Alemão, Attack on Afro-Brazilian Faiths, Rolezinho at City Council
Nov 11-Nov 17: Citywide Evictions Protest, Black Awareness, Favela Journalism, Urban Indigenous
Nov 4-Nov 10: Jury Now In On Rio 2016 Transport Legacy, Sustainable Favelas, Africa x Rio Connections
Oct 28-Nov 3: Favela Eviction Victory, Madonna’s Visit, Favela Tourism, Role of Academics
Oct 21-27: Tactical Urbanism, Hip-hop and Craft Beer, Violence and Favela Tourism
Oct 14-20: Environmental Education, Community Media, Funk Under Attack
Oct 7-13: Sustainable Favela Network, Massive Evictions Protest, SOS Hate Crimes
Oct 1-6: Favelas Resist Evictions, Organize Solutions, Respond to Army Occupation & Mayor’s Plan
Sept 18-30: Rio’s Strategic Plan, Community Organizing, Army Occupation
Aug 22-Sept 17: Eviction Threats, Resisting ‘War,’ Race, Challenging Stigma
August: Special Issue–One Year Since the Games
June-July: A Year Since the Games, New Mayor, Eco Week, Land Titling, Black July, Police Violence
May: May Update from Rio | Favela News: Community Organizing, Police Violence, Sustainability
March-April: The Latest from Our Work in Rio | Favela News
2016:
December: Celebrating Sustainable Community Solutions from RioOnWatch
October-December: Human Rights Day is Today: Best of RioOnWatch
September: Paralympics | Elections | Olympic reflections | Violence
August: Rio’s Favelas During the Olympic Games
July: Vila Autódromo Win | Black Lives Matter | Post-Games Solutions
June: Olympic Cleansing | Creative Organizing | Informality as an Asset
May: Banality of Violence | Right to Housing | School Occupations
April: 100 Days To Go | Impeachment | Evictions | Memory
March: Men’s Day | Evictions | Community media
February: Olympics 6 Months to Go Special: Vila Autódromo
January: Vila Autódromo | Truth Commission | Police violence | Social media
2015:
December: Int’l Reporting | Human Rights | Vila Autódromo
November: Black Awareness | Gender | Resistance & Celebration
October: Segregation | Raise Your Voice | Designed to Live Together
September: Police x Social Media | Stigma | Affordable Housing
August: One Year to Go to #Rio2016 | Best/Worst Media | Participation
July: Olympic Evictions | Good News in Housing & Organizing | Help Us
June: Lightning Evictions | Sustainability | Collective Leadership
May: Evictions & Demolitions | Police Violence | Slavery History
April: Pacification Tensions | Housing Crisis | Sustainability
March: Broken Olympic Promises | Sustainability & Tech | Men’s Day
February: Carnival | Police & protests | Community solutions
January: Slavery & the Port | Land compensation & tenure | Language
2014:
December: Year-End Update, Evictions, Resistance, Victories in Rio’s Favelas +++
November: Housing Crisis and Victories, Black Awareness Month in Rio’s Favelas +++
October: Elections, Inequality, Culture, Evictions in Rio’s Favelas +++
September: Escalating Violence, Evictions, Resistance & Success in Rio’s Favelas +++
August: Ferguson vs. Rio, Vila Autódromo update, Post-WC in Rio’s Favelas +++
July: World Cup Journalism Report Card, favela crackdowns & gondolas +++
June: World Cup journalism, mobilization and evictions in Rio’s favelas +++
May: *Ne
April: Violence, gentrifica
March: Demolition
February: Violence, eviction, Olympic legacy in Rio’s favelas +++
January: Eviction, gentrification, rolezinhos, landslide risk in Rio’s favelas +++
2013:
December: Landslides, gentrification, 2013 Worst Reporting on Rio’s favelas +++
November: Black awareness, growing resistance, NYT sees Rio’s favelas as ‘models’
October: Community organizing, human rights, and legal action in Rio’s favelas +++
September: Evictions victory, health, transport, and tenure in Rio’s favelas +++
August: Evictions victory, Grassroots Planning, Exigencies in Rio’s Favelas +++
July: Protests Intensify, Pope’s Visit, Police Violence in Rio’s Favelas +++
June: Protests take Brazil by storm, Community resistance, Police violence +++
May: Community Resistance, Public Security, Evictions in Rio’s favelas +++
April: Mobilization, evictions, business, participation in Rio’s favelas +++
March: Evictions, police occupation, community resistance in Rio’s favelas +++
February: Forced evictions intensify, favela economy & Internet access expand +++
January: Business, tourism & gentrification in the favela, all about the laje +++
2012:
January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
2011:
May | June | July | August | September | October | November-December