Favela Tourism: Stranger than Fiction
In the wake of President Obama’s recent visit to Rio de Janeiro, which included a tour through the notorious City of God slum, questions have been raised regarding the fate of Brazil’s hill-draped favelas. Brazilian and foreign officials have expressed concern related to the crime-infested favelas, especially in light of the upcoming Brazil-hosted 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. In an effort to qualm international and domestic anxiety, municipal and federal forces are acting together to combat drug lords and rid favelas of potentially spoiling transgressors who could have a devastating impact on the country’s image. However, law enforcement agencies are not the only factions trying to bring about severely needed change. Favela tourism is also playing a role, with tourists acting alongside government officials to revise global attitudes toward these impoverished communities. In this setting, tourism is helping to stimulate the traditionally hapless economies of the favelas. However, as it is not the official responsibility of foreign tourists to break down the barriers between favela residents and the rest of Brazilian society, Brasília is attempting to invest genuine enthusiasm in the renovation of favelas, beyond the current pacification programs, in which violence is freely used.
A New Perspective
The original wave of Brazilian favelas arose in the early twentieth century when desperately poor rural families began migrating to Rio in search of employment opportunities after the abolition of slavery in 1888.1 As housing was not readily available, shanties were constructed on the only available land—hillsides. Over a century later, approximately 1 million Cariocas (residents of Rio de Janeiro) occupy the hundreds of favelas littering Rio.
This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Tess Burns
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