FAVELAS ON FIRE:

BRAZILS URBAN WAR

A CONFLICT ASSESSMENT

Marcella Marucci 2010

by Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

Organized crime gangs in Rio de Janeiros favela slums have terrorized residents and underscored the states loss of control since 1979. The battle for control between gangs and law enforcement created open urban warfare in Rio for the last three decades.

Neglected since their creation as illegal settlements, favelas have been both site and source of this violent conflict. But now, with the deadlines of the 2014 FIFA World Cup event and the 2016 Summer Olympics looming, Brazil and Rio de Janeiro have an urgent need to finally address this complex problem and get it under control. Initial attempts at intervention have mostly taken aim at directly suppressing the favela drug gangs, but the correlated factors of corruption, social and income inequality require far more attention in order to achieve a sustainable peace.

This conflict assessment, prepared for the governments of Rio de Janeiro State and Brazil, consists of two phases: this report constitutes the first phase, which employs the U.Ks Department for International Developments (DfID) Strategic Conflict Assessment (SCA) framework. This desk study analyzes the structures, actors and dynamics of the conflict and identifies responses, concluding with recommendations requiring city and state cooperation. The second phase involves a workshoporiented in-country assessment influenced by the principles of Participatory Action Research (PAR). Workshops include all relevant stakeholders in order to effectively implement the recommendations of the first phase. The ideas of Mary Andersons Do No Harm approach guide the creation of this entire assessment, in that we view identified facets behind conflict as also critical factors for peace.
1

PHASE ONE: DESK STUDY

1. CONFLICT OVERVIEW

Mary Anderson, Do No Harm: How Aid Can Support Peace or War (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999) 2

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

Topographically, the city of Rio de Janeiro is an intricate puzzle of mountains, beaches and bays, and rainforests that surround a dense city of over 6 million inhabitants. Vast hillsides of shacks that comprise the more than 900 favelas that weave through Rios high-density urban landscape house more than a sixth of the citys people. The disparity between the wealth of Rios middle and upper class denizens and the abject poverty of favela-dwellers has not only contributed to Brazils high GINI index coefficient of income equality (55.0 in 2009 and comparable to such locales as Haiti at 59.5 and South Africa at 57.8) , it also serves as a principal driver behind the citys violent conflict.
4 3 2

Drug trafficking and arms running in the service of Colombian cocaine cartels and neighboring crime factions in Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay helped propel the creation of Rios own gangs in 1979, which in turn have been responsible for the explosion of violence in Rio from the 1980s until now. The gangs got their start in Rios penitentiary system, where they shared cells with political prisoners incarcerated by the military dictatorship at the time, and learned from them the jargon, skills (bombmaking, tunnel system building) and command systems of radicalized movements.

Rios gangs operate a linked criminal network between members still in prison and members on the outside, with jailed leaders typically communicating to their free cohort through smuggled mobile phones. On the outside, the gangs act as virtual owners of their favelas, controlling not only the lives of the residents, but also basic services they require and that the government has neglected to providecooking oil/fuel; utilities; medicine; transport; and security, all for a profit at higherthan-market rates. Thus a complex interdependence exists between favela residents and the organized crime gangs.
5

Drug gangs, however, are not the only instigators of violent conflict in Rio. By the late 1990s, armed militias formed by favela-dwelling active and ex-policemen and firemen turned vigilante against the drug gangs and usurped the racketeering of the gang cells they vanquished. Militias now control 41.5% of the slums, against 40% now in the hands of the largest

Based on 2008 IGBE (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografica e Estatistica) census statistics (accessed 1 March 2011); http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/presidencia/noticias/noticia_visualiza.php?id_noticia=1435&id_pagina=1 3 Ibid. 4 United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report 2009 (accessed 1 March 2011); http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/indicators/161.html 5 Ibid.

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

6

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

drug gang, the Comando Vermelho. Thus most favela dwellers lives are dictated, not by the state or rule of law, but by violent groups at war with each other who exploit and extort the destitute neighborhoods over which they claim dominion.
7

After historic neglect, the government is now attempting to stabilize Rios security through a program best characterized as a massive firepower response followed by community policing efforts. The method of pacification involves favela-by-favela secure-and-hold counterinsurgency strategies in which SWAT teams invade then establish a semi-permanent presence in a cleansed favela. Pacifications are bloody and victims include scores of innocent bystanders.

While inaccurate reporting methods and the potential for corruption require careful assessment of reliability, homicide rates in Rio have dropped since pacifications began three years ago (the first quarter of 2010 saw 2566 homicides, a 20% drop compared to the same quarter in 2009). But it is too early to estimate whether this decrease constitutes a trend.
8

2. CONFLICT ANALYSIS 2.1 STRUCTURES 2.1(a) SECURITY Security constitutes the most visible element of Rios conflict. To eradicate organized crime gangs, the state deploys a plethora of civil and military special police forces, accompanied by military-grade firepower. In particular, the intentionally recognizable special operations battalions trained in counter-insurgency warfare known as the BOPE can be seen throughout favelas that have been pacified. Favela dwellers, however, often complain of menacing behavior and extortion at the hands of security forces. Rio Governor Sergio Cabrals installation of urban Pacification Police Units (known as UPP forces), poses a stronger potential peace dividend. The UPP forces semi-permanently integrate into the favela community and assist in daycare, teach skills
6

Luiz Agosto Gollo, Vigilante Groups Trump Drug Gangs and Become Rios New Authority, 11 November 2009 (accessed 1

March 2011): http://www.brazzil.com/home-mainmenu-1/200-january-2009/10295-vigilante-groups-in-brazil-trump-druggangs-and-become-rios-new-authority.html

7

Carlos Amorim, interview by Regina Joseph, 13 April 2011, New York, email interview. ISP (Institute of Public Security) Reportagem, 5 August 2010 (accessed 1 March 2011);
th

http://www.isp.rj.gov.br/Conteudo.asp?ident=216

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

(like sports, athletic training, music) and seek social opportunities to engender trust and make favela life better. This is where the greatest opportunity to create change in favelas may liechanging the public perception of the police from 9 corrupt and violent abusers to fellow community members. Corruption and abuse are pervasive: a 2010 anti-corruption sting operation known as Operation Guillotine revealed police collaboration at the highest level with gangs and militias. Over 50 law-enforcement officialsincluding Allan Turnowski, Rios police chiefwere caught aiding the groups law enforcement sought to stop. While these visible structures require directional change, the least visible component of security, namely that of Brazils prison systems, remains in equally dire need of reform. Prisonsovercrowded, filthy and violentare the cauldrons of Brazils organized crime problem. Without an overhaul of the prison system, the structure of security in Brazil cannot be successful.
10

2.1(b) POLITICAL

Political structures address the problem of urban warfare, but they also directly sustain the problem.

Successive

governments derogated the establishment of basic public services to the poor, allowing favelas to grow and fester through neglect.

Former President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva sought to address this with the creation of the 4-year US$350 billion infrastructure investment programs PAC (2007) and PAC2 (2010, Programa de Acelerao do Crescimento or Growth Acceleration Programs). PAC is supposed to address urban housing, sewage, electricity and more. However, widespread corruption in Lulas and current president Dilma Rousseffs governments lead critics to scoff at PAC as unachievable publicity
9 11

Anonymous. Drug Violence Drops in Rio as New Policing Techniques Introduced, Latin America News Dispatch Online, 20

May, 2010 (accessed 1 March 2011): http://latindispatch.com/2010/05/20/drug-violence-drops-in-rio-de-janeiro-as-newpolicing-techniques-introduced/

10

Cecilia Ritto,Operao Guilhotina estanca vazadouro nos gabinetes da cpula da segurana pblica no Rio, Veja Online,

11 February 2011: http://veja.abril.com.br/noticia/brasil/operacao-guilhotina-estanca-vazadouro-nos-gabinetes-da-cupulada-seguranca

11

Brazil Online, PAC, http://www.brasil.gov.br/pac/investimentos/

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

stunts. However, Bolsa Familia, Lulas conditional cash transfer program that lifted 20 million people out of poverty has been successful, so elements of PAC2, if managed effectively, may still be viable.

The toughest political challenge to surmount lies in the fact that organized crime has become embedded into state institutions. Drug gangs fund political campaigns, deploy members into police forces and customs agencies, and can thus effectively render the state powerless to act.

2.1 (c)ECONOMIC

As Brazil emerges as an economic power, the impact of its urban wars and organized crime may potentially destabilize the increasing growth trend. Currently Brazil offers a very attractive foreign direct investment opportunityChina has been actively pouring billions of dollars into Brazil, which has in turn served as the capital used to create investment programs like PAC. But if security continues to elude the Brazilian government, the current upward trajectory may yet stall, which is why the tests of World Cup 2014 and the 2016 Olympics are eyed so nervously by internal analysts. According to President of Cisco Brazil Rodrigo Abreu: Brazils high crime rate has acted as an obstacle to the creation of a virtuous circle in which security brings investment, which in turn brings resources that can be used to continue improving security.12 That investment also brings jobs, a factor in changing the underlying structures that maintain favela life.

2.1(d) SOCIAL

Social and cultural forces can serve as both peace capacities as well as conflict sources. Institutions like religious organizations often serve as mediators and charity providers within favelas; however, churches and officials have also

12

Ibid.

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

become participants in the conflict by protecting gang members and in some cases, even running guns and drugs on their behalf.
13

But even the power of devotion, a critical social binder in Brazil, cannot override the central social structure that maintains the status quo of favela misery: the prosperity gap. For the poor, that gap creates resentment that has been reinforced by the legacy of slavery, centuries of racism and a class hierarchy that still favors whites of European ancestry above all others. The wealthy close themselves off into bunkered oases and reduce their contact with the majority of Rios population. Researchers of Rios urban violence say such resentment serves as a source of the culture of hypermasculinity that glamorizes guns and power, leading the most vulnerable into lives of crime.
14

Myriad NGOs and community groups have sought to minimize the violence by creating programs that offer an alternative path for young people excluded from participation in wider Brazilian society via education and employment. Many of these focus particularly on programs for women, as they serve not only as the primary breadwinning forces within favelas, but also as a factor in the cycle of violence: Abra Zaluar of NUPEV Violence Research Center, in observing the highest number of deaths among men under the age of 30 in her study on favela violence, says the chances of dying between the ages of 15 and 30 is directly linked to the mother's schooling. Based on this observation, Zaluar insists the group in most need of the states attention constitutes the poor, female slum residents that have spent little or no time in school.
15

13

Anonymous, MS: pastores esto envolvidos em trfico de armas, Jornal Globo Online, 11 March 2010 (accessed 1 March

2011): http://jornalnacional.globo.com/Telejornais/JN/0,,MUL1526040-10406,00MS+PASTORES+ESTAO+ENVOLVIDOS+EM+TRAFICO+DE+ARMAS.html
14

Interview with Alba Zaluar, Director of Violence Studies of Nupev-Uerj, by Antonio Gois, June 2009 (accessed online 1

March 2011): http://www.ims.uerj.br/nupevi/artigos_midia/Hiperm.pdf

15

Luiz Agosto Gollo, Vigilante Groups Trump Drug Gangs and Become Rios New Authority, 11 November 2009 (accessed 1

March 2011): http://www.brazzil.com/home-mainmenu-1/200-january-2009/10295-vigilante-groups-in-brazil-trump-druggangs-and-become-rios-new-authority.html

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

Certain social needs must be urgently addressed. Rio has yet to implement a public health policy to deal with the addiction problems now rife in favelas; without this, eradication of drug gangs from favela life can never really be complete.

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War 2.2 ACTORS

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

ACTORS
Brazilian Govt

INTERESTS
security; stability; growth

RELATIONS
corrupted; crime embedded; critic/public skepticism

PEACE AGENDAS
need to unify cities and public; engender trust; establish domestic stability

INCENTIVES
economic stability; global prestige and power

Rio Govt

security; stability; growth

corrupted; crime embedded; critic/public skepticism

UPP; unify favela & asfalto residents; engender trust & quality of life

economic stability; global prestige; structural cohesion

Police

I N T E R N A L

I N T E R N A L

public order; reduce organized crime; prestige

corrupted; crime embedded; critic/public skepticism

UPP; unify favela & asfalto residents; engender trust & quality of life

increased budgets; public respect

Drug Gangs

profit; power; area control; employment

violence; resident dependence; security

gang exit = longer lives; better community relations

survival

Militias

gang eradication; profit; power; employment

violence; corruption; resident dependence; security

peaceful coexistence; better community relations

avoidance of prison; public respect; peaceful neighborhoods

Favela Residents

peace; stability; services; equality; employment

violence; gang dependence; mistrust; sense of neglect

cooperation in improvement programs; favela structural improvement

peace; employment; education; better living conditions; stability

Intl Olympic Comm. (IOC)

profitable 2016 Summer Olympics; stability

good relations; concern over stability

successful Olympics helps to establish peace and economic growth

good public relations; growth of Olympic brand & profit

E X T E R N A L

Intl Football Federation (FIFA) Security Consultants

profitable 2014 World Cup; stability

good relations; concern over stability

successful World Cup helps to establish peace and economic growth

good public relations; growth of FIFA brand & profit

profit; prestigious client base

Brazilian interest & skepticism; consultant interest

consultancy success dependent on ability to establish peace and security

good public relations; growth of consultancy tactics & profit

Bad Neighbors Co./Bo./Para.

profit; domestic stability in own states

complex diplomatic relations; resource dependencies

greater peace & stability for all if organized crime brought under control

economic stability; increased prestige & power; better relations

NGOs

progressive change; economic stability

some very communityinvolved, others less so

aid programs not as successful as community-building (esp. arts)

increase peace and stability and use as models for other countries

INT./EXT.

Religious Organizations

increase numbers of the faithful; bind community

positive=charity & community build; negative=gang support

creating peace as a devotional work of faith

extend devotional communities

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War 2.3 DYNAMICS

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

2.3(a) LONG TERM TRENDS OF CONFLICT AND SCENARIOS

Social programs from the Lula administration from 2003-2010 have yielded a 6% reduction in crime and early attempts at pacification appear to be generating decreases in favela violence. But only 13 of Rios nearly 1000 favelas constitute as pacified. Furthermore, until Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio, is effectively pacified for a sustained period, state representatives cant truly claim success with such measures.

Since Operation Guillotine in late 2010 removed several top law enforcement officials for corruption, the Rio civil police force must quickly rebuild and reform to stanch the corrosive effect of abuse of power. But rebuilding and simultaneously mounting the largest single organized crime counter-insurgency plan in historyand completing both successfully and sustainably by 2014starts to look like over-reaching.

Even in a scenario where Rio is able to accomplish these twinned tasks, larger trends lurk ominously: 1.) Assuming a best-case scenario where violence does not mar either the World Cup or the Olympics, what happens after the events are over?

2.) Should state investments (such as those in oil and agriculture) not yield the revenues required for continuation of core infrastructure development programs beyond those required immediately to fulfill sporting event obligations, their removal would put recent individual economic gains from Bolsa Familia at risk. Unless state and national governments devise a longterm funding strategy now for Rio infrastructure, regardless of the World Cup and the Olympics and while Brazilian cashflow remains positive and liquid, economic wild cards can disrupt efforts aimed at overall social improvementnecessary steps in quelling violence long-term.

10

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

3.) Rio is experiencing new cataclysmic storm patterns, possibly due to climate change from Amazon clear-cutting. Hillside structures like favelas face the worst threat from storms, since their flimsy constructions tend to be swept away by mudslides and soil erosions. An infrastructural replacement plan for the favelas cannot be put off much longer.

2.3(b)TRIGGERS FOR INCREASED VIOLENCE

Pacifications trigger violence between law enforcement and gangs, so when Rio commences tackling its larger and more dangerous favelas, violence may be triggered on a much bigger scale. The World Cup and the Olympics may certainly serve as further potential violence triggers as drug gangs may use these events for retaliation and display. Long-term, Brazil must consider long overdue prison reforms that may also serve as further triggers for instability and conflict. In any aspect of reform the necessary upheaval involved could pose a real threat to peace and stability in the cities.

2.3(c) CAPACITIES FOR MANAGING CONFLICT

Several facets serve as both sources of conflict as well as sources of peaceamong them, police forces like the UPP; reformed militia members who forego racketeering and exploitation of their communities; and uncorrupt political officials who refuse to seek gain or employ jeito (shortcuts) when opportunities to take advantage appear. Until now, managing conflict has primarily taken the form of matching firepower with firepower; however, managing conflict may be more sustainably maintained through building shared identity. The prosperity gap and racism reinforce the class hierarchy between favela residents and wealthy urbanites. However, Brazilians share common identity traits, such as a love of music, sports, arts and patrimonial pride. By targeting identity-related issues, a build-up of trust may smooth future pacifications.

3. EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL RESPONSES

3.1 ROLE OF THE IOC and FIFA

11

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

In his visit to Rio in 2010, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge emphasized that the success of the Olympic Games lies in all the parties coming together and offered his organizations assistance to realizing this goal.
16

Although construction of some Olympic venues is already well underway, other proposed areas for the Games have little infrastructure and will require much more construction and fundingConcerns surrounding the 2016 Olympic Games extend to the World Cup, which occurs even sooner in 2014. Government lack of transparency in allocation of funds and budget overages threaten to derail progress; Brazils Federal Accounting Authority states that several of Brazils World Cup projects face poor planning, and exploding costs, which may negatively impact more vital social improvements.
17

3.2 ARMS, DRUG CONTROL and SECURITY The Tri-Border Area (TBA) between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay is a hot spot for the flow of weapons and drugs.. The Brazilian Federal Police currently maintain surveillance over the TBA, but heavily forested and poorly defined boundaries make controlling the more than 1000 kilometer border extremely difficult. Illicit operations along the TBA continue to go unnoticed.

In Rio, the U.S. Consulates Public Affairs Office has worked with Brazilian police agencies to assist in pacification efforts. It also invited two U.S. security specialists to lead social development resolutions, including assessing effective dialogue between police officers and youths and sharing knowledge on community policing and peacekeeping training from different regions in the US, including New York City. The Brazilian government has also sought outside consultants like Rudolph Giuliani to advise on security.
18

16 17

Ibid. Tribunal das Contas da Unio - Plennary Judgement 742/2009. AC-0742-14/09-P. http://contas.tcu.gov.br 2009 (accessed on 22 April 2011). 18 Anonymous. U.S. Security Specialists Exchange Shared Knowledge with Rio de Janeiro Police Officers Consulate General of the United States, Rio de Janeiro, 15 April 2011. http://riodejaneiro.usconsulate.gov/ev-041-5-2011.html (accessed 20 April 2011). 12

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War 3.3 FOREIGN AID AND NGOs

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

Some organizations stand out as having an impact on both policy and social consciousness:

The International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), active in Rio, plays a crucial role in supporting efforts towards human safety by reducing the demand for small arms and strengthening arms transfer controls. Thanks to movements like IANSA, the disarmament campaign in Brazil resulted in the collection of more than half a million weapons between 2003 and 2009, and on September 28, 2010, the Brazilian Minister of Justice signed an agreement with IANSA member Viva Rio, establishing the disarmament campaign as a permanent state policy.
21 20 19

The Luta Pela Paz (Fight for Peace) project in the Complexo da Mare favela in northern Rio is perhaps the most visible example of a successful international (Anglo-Irish founded) effort addressing urban violence. Luta Pela Paz uses boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development to help youth in conflict-laden societies realize their potential. Most recently, a meeting organized by Luta Pela Paz and the British Consulate in Rio brought together authorities involved in the organization of cultural projects for the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games to reinforce the social legacy for favela youth after the Games are overfor the first time, the three spheres of Brazilian government (Municipal, State and Federal) were present in showing interest in such an organization.
24 23 22

4. INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS 4.1 FEDERAL, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INITIATIVES

19 20

Anonymous. About Us, IANSA Online. http://www.iansa.org/aboutus (accessed 22 April 2011). Anonymous. Brazil government announces permanent disarmament campaign. IANSA Online. http://www.iansa.org/update/item/2010/10/brazil-government-announces-permanent-disarmament-campaign (accessed 22 April 2011). 21 Ibid. 22 Shyne, James. Interview by Marcella Marucci, 18 April 2011, New York, NY. Email interview. 23 Anonymous. About Us. Fight For Peace Online. http://www.fightforpeace.net/default.asp?contentID=2&lang=1 (accessed 20 April 2011). 24 Ibid. 13

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

In December 2003, the Brazilian Congress passed the Disarmament Statuteits first national gun law which imposed restrictions on the use of firearms and laid out newly established crimes and penalties for small arms possession. In July 2004, the Brazilian Federal Government launched the Disarmament Campaigna gun buyback programwith extremely positive results. Then in August 2007, the Brazils Ministry of Justice implemented the Program of Public Security and Citizenship (PRONASCI) to focus on at-risk youth and the high rates of violence in major Brazilian cities.
27 26 25

PRONASCIs innovative campaign targets citizen involvement and includes: modernizing police forces and the penitentiary system; training security professionals; eradicating police corruption; fighting criminality; promoting womens human rights; and keeping young adults away from criminality by offering them government-led options.
28

The PRONASCI programs and the disarmament statute compound the gains that have been created by PAC, PAC2, Bolsa Familia, and the UPP community policing forces. These elements taken togetherstarting with the UPP in particularmake it possible for people in occupied favelas to play a role and have a voice in the control of violence.

4.2 LOCAL NGOs and COMMUNITY PROGRAMS Many non-governmental organizations have formed in response to Rios growing violence. Viva Rio, the oldest and the largest NGO created by favela residents, has developed a wide range of successful activities and strategies including Viva Favela, a community news project that serves as both a virtual bridge between favela residents and the outside world and a resource for intra-favela news.
29

25

UN Website. Response of Brazil to the Secretary General's Request for Views on the Interrelation Between Armed violence and Development, as Per Section 2 of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 63/23. (accessed 22 April 2011): http://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/SALW/Docs/AV-MemberStatesViews/Brazil-E.pdf 26 Ibid. 27 Ibid. 28 UN Website. Response of Brazil to the Secretary General's Request for Views on the Interrelation Between Armed violence and Development, as Per Section 2 of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 63/23. (accessed 22 April 2011): http://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/SALW/Docs/AV-MemberStatesViews/Brazil-E.pdf 29 Viva Rio Online (accessed 20 April 2011);http://www.vivario.org.br/ 14

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War 4.3(a) MUSIC, ART, and SPORT-BASED PROGRAMS

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

Brazilians identify strongly with their cultural heritage of the arts and athletics; some of the most successful peace capacitors are music, art and sport programs. Grupo Cultural AfroReggae, a music and drumming collective, created by a former Comando Vermelho member, uses music workshops to resist drug gangs across hundreds of Rios favelas; artists have harnessed the collective power of favela residents to transform their hillside communities into massive artworks, painting sweeping images directly onto shacks that create effects that can be seen from miles away; and youth programs in soccer and volleyball have been central in creating safe places to play, as well as providing aspirational opportunities for the gifted.
30

5. METHODOLOGY By adopting DfIDs SCA framework our aim is to harmonize Brazils and Rios action plan with potential responses from all stakeholders.

Our intensive desk study involved in-field experts (See Annex I) who helped broaden the understanding of the situation on the ground. Given the acute sensitivity of the findings and the wide-range of actors, implementing a Do No Harm approach requires in-country research and workshops with local and international development organizations, economists, scholars, government actors and favela residents to exchange ideas and establish a basis for continued strategic planning; this will be the next phase of our research.

Our approach requires flexibility: we encourage shared analysis among government actors (in particular security sector actors like the police and prison system officials). That flexibility also requires the information sharing and participation to extend to the various conflict actors, including drug gang members, militia members, and favela residents. The complexity of Rios conflict requires dynamic profiling an aspect emphasized by the SCA frameworks focus on the nexus where change

30

Neate, Patrick and Damian Platt. Culture is Our Weapon: Making Music and Changing Lives in Rio de Janeiro (New York: Penguin, 2010); 1-72. 15

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War intersects with root causes of violence.
31

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

Rios 500-year legacy of colonialism, military dictatorships, and elite oligarchic

capitalism have entrenched behaviors, resentments, and aspirations that seem static and cant be easily undone; however, the nature of the conflicts violence morphs daily. But the conflicts instability poses a direct challenge to Brazils current economic ascendance. Brazil and Rio cannot afford to allow the tenuous security condition to threaten future investment, development and growth. The he framework employs a strong political economy lens in which to view the relations between actors; its multidisciplinary approach allows a range of ideas from various sectors to influence a sustainable plan of action.
32

To date, Brazil and Rios response to the conflict consists of a law enforcement-based response in which massive

firepower is used to counter firepower of conflict actors. This approach, while effective to some extent by slightly reducing the overall level of violence, causes harm by inflicting collateral damage, killing innocent civilians and increasing fear and resentment. We propose a sustainable plan of action that mitigates the harmful effects of current strategy by creating direct dialogue between antagonistic actors to establish trust.

6. RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS 6.1 A PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN: ARRIVAL CITIES NO MORE Much of Rios conflict rests on negative perceptions of the poor and the favelas themselves. Income inequality, racism and unequal land distribution combined with state neglect have stigmatized favelas and residents, effectively containing them as borderline elements of society. We recommend turning this view on its head by essentially rebranding favelas as launching pads for the rural poor in their transition to urban life a theme expounded upon by Doug Saunders,
33

the author of Arrival

City. Favelas, seen as arrival cities, determine the success of rapidly urbanizing metropolises; by changing the perception of favelas and unifying them within the larger urban social fabric of Rio, the dialogue between wealthy and poor may be reenergized.

6.2 PRELIMINARY POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

31 32

Department for International Development (2002) Conducting Conflict Assessments: Guidance Notes (London: DfID) p. 7 Ibid, p. 8 33 Saunders, Doug, interview by Tom Ashbrook. "Global Migration and Arrival Cities." On Point. NPR. March 23, 2011. 16

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War Short-Term:

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

Expand efforts to expand UPP and UPP social programs to all urban areas within Rio Expand law enforcement/anti-corruption stings Begin Rio-based public relations program highlighting favelas as vital arrival city components of Rios society to restore dignity to favela residents. Require all NGOs and aid agencies to assist in the effort to establish a unified Rio identity. o Key focus: sanitation and anti-corruption

Increase government support for sports, music, and arts-based programs in the favelas Continue to work with international actors, NGOs and aid agencies to collaborate on violence reduction

Long-Term:

Overhaul and reform the prison system: prison construction must include cell phone transmission blocking mechanisms

State-wide anti-corruption programs: must investigate embedded relationships between organized crime activity and politicians

Education reform: must include the creation of adequate schools and facilities for favela youth Public health and housing reform for the poor: continue addressing favela sanitation and safe public housing Implement a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) team to observe ongoing conflict dynamics and stakeholder progress

PHASE TWO: IN-COUNTRY ASSESSMENT 7. FIELD WORK AND PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH

The in-country phase of our assessment will include additional research in the form of interviews and workshops. We propose individual workshops for each stakeholding group, concluding with a final workshop where all actors meet to 17

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

debrief on their individual workshops. We use Participatory Action Research (PAR) principles to guide a more collaborative response. PAR requires conflict actors to be directly involved in the process of peace-building, so that adoption of sustainable policies potentially increases.
34

To that end, one of the workshops that we require as part of the methodology consists of an

interaction exercise to take place on Rios beaches. Historically, the beaches of Rio have been a neutral, class-free space in which all members of Rios society congregate. Our recommendation requires state government officials, gang members, favela residents, and law enforcement officers to participate together in trust-building culturally-oriented exercises including soccer games, volleyball games and musical performances.

8. CONCLUDING REMARKS Brazil and Rio must amplify their current counter-insurgency-based response to the conflict by combining a public awareness campaign to unify Rio with reform of the security sector, pubic services and education. Income inequality remains the principle driver behind Rios urban conflict and therefore must be the states long-term ultimate goal. Certain elements of current practice, like the UPP, constitute a step in the right direction; but they must be significantly reinforced through extension to larger areas of the city and coupled with active policies of redistributing social equality over the next decade.

With the opportunity to project its soft power and substantiate Brazils emergence as a global leader, the city and nation face tremendous short-term pressure to fulfill the responsibilities they have fought so hard to get. Should Rio and Brazil fail at getting the security situation under control, not only are lives of its citizens at stake, but so is the more visible issue of Brazils standing as a competent and reliable actor in world affairs.

34

Stiefel, Matthias. "Participatory Action Research as a Tool for Peacebuilding: The WSP Experience." In Peace-Building: A Field Guide, by L. Reychler & T. Paffenholz, 573. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., (2001), p. 266. 18

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

Annex I Interviewees:

Carlos Amorim

Carlos Amorim is a Rio native and resident and is considered the world's most prolific expert on Brazilian organized crime. He is a documentary director, print and broadcast investigative journalist, and the author of a critically-lauded trilogy on organized crime, including Assalto ao Poder (Assault on Power); CV-PCC: A Irmandade de Crime (CV-PC: The Brotherhood of Crime); and Comando Vermelho: A Historia Secreta dor Crime Organizdo (Red Command: The Secret History of Organized Crime). Amorim spent 20 years working for Globo, Brazil's largest media conglomerate, in a variety of executive production roles and is also the founding editor of Brazilian newspaper Jornal de Manchete.

Marcio Kahn

Marcio Kahn is a Rio native and resident. Kahn is a senior engineer at Petrobras as well as a founding shareholder in Casa de Carinho, a daycare center located in the Santa Marta favela. As a member of the Mangueira samba club, Kahn is also involved in social and cultural events in that favela community. He is Regina Joseph's first cousin.

James Shyne

19

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

James Shyne is a PhD candidate in international economics at the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He is currently working on a multiple-essay dissertation examining public policy and human security in Brazil and was a William J. Fulbright Fellow in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2009.

Email: jshyne@gmail.com Cel. (Brazil) +55.21.9689.3908 Cel. (USA) +1.617.320.8377

Interview transcripts available on request.

20

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

Bibliography

Africa Center for Strategic Studies. content/uploads/2010/09/AfricaBrief-7.pdf

Africa Security Brief No.7.

2010 http://africacenter.org/wp-

Amorim, Carlos. Comando Vermelho: A historia do crime organizado. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Record, 1993

Amorim, Carlos. Interview by Regina Joseph, 13 April 2011, New York, NY. Email interview.

Anderson, Mary. Do No Harm: How Aid Can Support Peace or War. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999; p.9.

Anonymous, About Us, IANSA Online. (accessed 4 April 2011); http://www.iansa.org/aboutus

Anonymous. About Us. Fight For Peace Online. http://www.fightforpeace.net/default.asp?contentID=2&lang=1 (accessed 20 April 2011).

Anonymous,

Armed

Violence

Reduction

Proramming

in

Brazil.

(accessed

20

April

2011);

http://www.comunidadesegura.org/en/node/37880 (Accessed on April 20, 2011).

Anonymous, Brazils Bolsa Familia: How to get children out of jobs and into school, Economist Online, 29 July 2010 (accessed 29 March 2011): http://www.economist.com/node/16690887

21

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

Anonymous. Brazil government announces permanent disarmament campaign. IANSA Online. http://www.iansa.org/update/item/2010/10/brazil-government-announces-permanent-disarmament-campaign (accessed 22 April 2011).

Anonymous. Drug Violence Drops in Rio as New Policing Techniques Introduced. Latin America News Dispatch Online, 20 May 2010 (accessed 1 March 2011): http://latindispatch.com/2010/05/20/drug-violence-drops-in-riode-janeiro-as-new-policing-techniques-introduced/
Anonymous. Gang violence grips Brazil state. BBC News Online, 16 May 2006: (accessed on 1 April 2011): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4771455.stm

Anonymous. Jacques Rogge launches Construction of the Rio 2016 Olympic Village. Terra Online. http://deportesus.terra.com/road-to-2012/noticias/0,,O14865723-El17470,00Jacques+Rogge+launches+Construction+of+the+Rio+Olympic+Village.html (accessed 15 April 2011).

Anonymous. MS: pastores esto envolvidos em trfico de armas. Jornal Globo Online, 11 March 2010 (accessed 1 March 2011): http://jornalnacional.globo.com/Telejornais/JN/0,,MUL1526040-10406,00-

MS+PASTORES+ESTAO+ENVOLVIDOS+EM+TRAFICO+DE+ARMAS.html Anonymous. Rio de Janeiro to host 2016 Olympics, CNN Online, 02 October, 2009. http://articles.cnn.com/2009-10-02/world/olympics.2016_1_temporary-venues-olympic-venues-internationalolympic-committee/3?_s=PM:WORLD (accessed on 10 March 2011)

Anonymous, UN Mission Co-sponsors Sports Day for Peace In Haitian Capital. (accessed 21 April 2011); http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/sport/home/sport/template/news_item.jsp?cid=24200

22

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

Anonymous. U.S. Security Specialists Exchange Shared Knowledge with Rio de Janeiro Police Officers Consulate General of the United States, Rio de Janeiro, 15 April 2011. http://riodejaneiro.usconsulate.gov/ev-041-5-2011.html (accessed 20 April 2011). Batista, Andre Sales and others. Quilombos, Cortios, Favelas: Moving from Historical Oppression to Social Transformation. St. Johns University Humanities Review, vol. 4.2 (Fall 2006): 34 http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~ganterg/sjureview/vol42/06Quilombos.htm

Brazil Ministry of Justice- PRONASCI (accessed 21 April 2011); http://portal.mj.gov.br/pronasci/data/Pages/MJE24D0EE7ITEMIDAF1131EAD238415B96108A0B8A0E7398PTBRI E.htm

Brazil Government Online, PAC, http://www.brasil.gov.br/pac/investimentos/

Country Reports on Terrorism 2009, United States Department of State Publication. Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (Released August 2010) www.state.gov/documents/organization/141114.pdf (accessed on 10 April 2011).

Department for International Development (2002) Conducting Conflict Assessments: Guidance Notes (London: DfID)

Firmeza Foundation Online (accessed 18 April 2011);http://www.favelapainting.com/firmeza-foundation Gollo, Luiz Agosto. Vigilante Groups Trump Drug Gangs and Become Rios New Authority. Brazzil Online, 11 November 2009 (accessed 1 March 2011): http://www.brazzil.com/home-mainmenu-1/200-january-2009/10295-vigilante-groups-inbrazil-trump-drug-gangs-and-become-rios-new-authority.html

Hestbaek, Cecelie. Rocinha Pacification Date Approaches. Rio Times Online, 26 October, 2010 (accessed on 1 March 2011) http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-politics/rocinha-pacification-date-approaches/
23

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

IGBE (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografica e Estatistica), 2008 Census Statistics; (accessed 1 March 2011); http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/presidencia/noticias/noticia_visualiza.php?id_noticia=1435&id_pagina=1

Instituto de Seguridade Publico. ISP (Institute of Public Security) Reportagem. Rio de Janeiro. 5 August 2010 (accessed 1 March 2011); http://www.isp.rj.gov.br/Conteudo.asp?ident=216

th

Kahn, Marcio. Interview by Regina Joseph, 1 April 2011, New York, NY. Telephone interview.

Neate, Patrick and Damian Platt. Culture is Our Weapon: Making Music and Changing Lives in Rio de Janeiro. New York: Penguin, 2010; 1-72.

Rio 2016 Official Website of the Olympic Games. http//www.rio2016.org/quem-faz (accessed 15 April 2011).

Ritto, Cecilia.Operao Guilhotina estanca vazadouro nos gabinetes da cpula da segurana pblica no Rio. Veja Online, 11 February 2011: http://veja.abril.com.br/noticia/brasil/operacao-guilhotina-estanca-vazadouronos-gabinetes-da-cupula-da-seguranca
Saunders, Doug. Arrival City: How the Largest Migration in History is Reshaping Our World. Pantheon, New York, 2010.

Saunders, Doug, Interview by Tom Ashbrook. "Global Migration and Arrival Cities." On Point. NPR. March 23, 2011. (accessed 14 April 2011); http://onpoint.wbur.org/2011/03/23/global-migration

Shyne, James. Interview by Marcella Marucci, 18 April 2011, New York, NY. Email interview.

24

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

Sobreira, Rogerio. "Evaluating the Impact of the Brazilian Program of Public Security with Citizenship: Pronasci--A Proposed Model" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the The Law and Society Association, Renaissance Chicago Hotel, Chicago, IL, May 27, 2010. (accessed 20 April 2011); http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p406236_index.html

Stiefel, Matthias. "Participatory Action Research as a Tool for Peacebuilding: The WSP Experience." In PeaceBuilding: A Field Guide, by L. Reychler & T. Paffenholz, 573. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., 2001.

Tebi, Lilyan. Understanding The Favelas: Culture, Crime and Survival in one of the Worlds Largest Squatter Cities: AfroReggae, 31 December 2009 (accessed 18 April 2011);http://lilyantebi.wordpress.com/baile-funk/afroreggae/

Tribunal das Contas da Unio - Plennary Judgement 742/2009. AC-0742-14/09-P. (accessed on 22 April 2011); http://contas.tcu.gov.br 2009

United Nations Development Program. Human Development Report 2009. New York, NY. (accessed 1 March 2011); http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/indicators/161.html

UN MDG Achievement Fund Report. "Security with Citizenship: preventing violence and strengthening citizenship with a focus on children, adolescents and youths in vulnerable conditions in Brazilian communities." (accessed 21 April 2011); mdtf.undp.org/document/download/5780

UN Website. Response of Brazil to the Secretary General's Request for Views on the Interrelation Between Armed violence and Development, as Per Section 2 of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 63/23. (accessed 22 April 2011); http://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/SALW/Docs/AV-MemberStatesViews/Brazil-E.pdf

25

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

UN Website, Sport for Development and Peace: The UN System in Action. (accessed on 20 April 2011); http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/sport/home/sport/peace

Viva Rio Online (accessed 20 April 2011);http://www.vivario.org.br/

World

Bank.

Lifting

Families

Out

of

Poverty

in

Brazil.

(accessed

March

2011);

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/LACEXT/BRAZILEXTN/0,,contentMDK:20754490~men uPK:2024799~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:322341,00.html

Zaluar, Alba, Director of Violence Studies of Nupev-Uerj. Interiew by Antonio Gois, June 2009, Rio de Janeiro. (accessed online 1 March 2011): http://www.ims.uerj.br/nupevi/artigos_midia/Hiperm.pdf

26

Conflict Assessment Favelas on Fire: Rios Urban War

Regina Joseph and Marcella Marucci

27