Drugs, Favelas, Poverty, and Me

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Carol, Giselle, and I walk out of the airport on a cool, overcast day. At this point it is around 2:00. I look around and take in my first impressions of Brazil. Across the road in the distance I can see a favela.

"Ample parking day or night ..."

January 9th 2006
The unbearable tightness of Lycra

Favelas are Brazilian shanty towns. While every major city has favelas, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have the largest. Poor farmers, migrating from the destitue interior of the northeast make up the greatest percent of the population. Many of these northeasterners have a distorted view of the reality of Sao Paulo, and Rio. The cities are seen as places overflowing with jobs and money- reminding me of the early stories of America having streets paved with gold. Those who migrate seldom have the skills, or the family network to overcome the large unemployment.

They move into small shacks built on the uninhibited hills surrounding the cities. The poorest are forced to live on the top of the hills. Often they steal electricity from the nearby power lines. When heavy rains come, mudslides are a huge problem causing death and destruction. The larger favelas are dominated by drug lords who enforce the civil code- police are not welcome and stay away. When each drug lord stays in their turf the favelas, while not safe especially for a foreigner, are not incredibly dangerous. It is when the drug lords fight over territory that the body counts rise, and no one is safe. The Brazilian movie ''City of God´´ is a dramatization of one such war that occurred in the 1970´s, and is an excellent movie if you can handle subtitles. If you rent it be sure to check out the documentary in the bonus features. The shots of the favelas from helicopter are a powerful image that will no doubt stick with you.

Favela

January 6th 2006
Santa Theresa

Before I came to Brazil, I only thought of the drug trade in its relation to the United States. The drug trade was traffickers like Pablo Escobar, drug smugglers hunted by the DEA, and Reagan´s (then Bush´s, then Clinton´s, then Bush´s then...) war on drugs. But the favela drug lords aren't making their money off Americans, they are making their money off Brazilians. Perhaps this illustrates the unequal distribution of wealth in Brazil. The wealthy buy drugs, the money is used to buy guns, the guns are used to intimidate the population of the favela, and keep the police away. This is obviously an oversimplification, but I think there is some merit to the argument.

Rocinha Favela

January 1st 2006
Be a local (dot com)

The most interesting part of the favelas is the relative order. It is hard to imagine so many people living so close to one another. Rocinha, the one of the largest favelas in South America, has over 127,000 inhabitants. Most of the population owns a television set, and they even have Internet cafes. Many of the drug lords see themselves as benevolent dictators. They maintain order with an iron fist, and act as an effective deterrent against crime in the community.

The power of the drug lords is a testament to the failure of the police. One of the biggest problems in Brazil is the total lack of trust for the police. They have a reputation of violence and corruption. They are paid incredibly low wages, and are often times bribed. I have heard stories of policemen planting drugs on unsuspecting gringoes, and extorting a bribe from them. This lack of trust is exploited by the drug lords in the favelas. Since police are already seen as an enemy it takes little for the drug dealers to earn the respect and control of the community.

"Rocinha" Favela

November 10th 2005
Rio de Janeiro

While crime is kept down in the favelas because of the cruel and instant punishment of the drug lords, outside the favelas is another story. Most of the crime is blamed on people from the favela. One could argue the crime is because of drugs, or argue it is because of poverty. But I think that is missing the point. Crime, drugs, and poverty are all interrelated and a part of the favela lifestyle. This is the reason one can not simply solve the problem of favelas. Favelas are as much a part of Brazil as samba and soccer. And everyone in Brazil suffers because of this.

This can be seen both indirectly and directly. Indirectly in the paranoia of Brazil. When I meet a new Brazilian the most common thing I hear, outside of hello and how are you, is ''be careful.´´ Throughout Brazil people do not buy houses for fear of robbery, and those that do surround them in fences. If they can afford it they hire gate men to keep watch. Brazil is the number one employer of personal security guards in the world. Sao Paulo has the most helicopters per capita in the world. Wealthy business executives fly from one building to another rather then enter the street and the danger of getting robbed. The favelas have an impact on the life of every Brazilian no matter the class, or race.

And on October the 20th, the favela directly affected me.

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