Favelas

 Favelas are part of Brasilian culture and part of the image that the rest of the world has of Brasil. Favelas are a very difficult concept to explain to those who are not from Brasil or a country that has slums that act in a similar way. Favelas are very real and it is sad how many people try to ignore their existence, especially people in the higher social classes. However, favelas are not exactly as the common misconception that most people have.

Yes, There is a lot of crime in favelas and favelas are controlled by drug lords and different gangs. Most of the time, the police turns a blind eye on what happens in the favelas. Sometimes, they become corrupt and partnerships are formed between them in exchange of money. In occasions, they even stage conflicts or actions taken in the favelas to make it look like they have it under control. Many examples of this are described in the article Performances of Police Legitimacy in Rio’s Hyper Favela by Erika Robb Larkins. Examples of this can also be seen in the movie Cidade de Deus. The movie is about a kid called Buscape and his life in the favela and those around him. In the movie, it is clearly seen how a lot of crime happens around in favelas and there is no law enforcement or government forces that do anything about it. Police officers are often seen acting for their own benefit, like when they are trafficking guns into the favela or when they rob some of the criminals.

However, that isn’t all that there is to favelas. They are also filled with normal people who are just carrying normal lives, doing the right things and want to be better and even go out of the favelas. One big example is Buscape, he wanted to become a photographer and didn’t get involved with in any of the gang wars that were happening. For these people, favelas are their homes, and they just happened to be born in a very dangerous place and have difficult lives. For them that is life and it is how it is. Some of them get too used to the life in a favela and find it hard to move out of them. For example, there are special programs to build houses and move people from favelas into them. But, many people just end up going back to their little house in the favelas.

The worst part of favelas and the movies and articles that are written about them, is the involvement of so many children. Children are surrounded by violence and aspire to be part of a gang because they think it is cool. They start with small jobs such as alerting or making errands, and climb up until they are the ones killing or trafficking. Favelas are vicious cycles that never end. Just as seen in City of God, at the beginning, Buscape’s brother and his friends are the main gang until they are killed by Ze Pequeno, who was a kid at the time and grows up to be one of the leaders of the favela, who then is killed at the end by other kids. There is hope that this will end one day, but doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon.