AvenidaBrasil

Em 1926, Washington Luís became president of Brazil, following a motto that had accompanied his political career since he was governor of São Paulo, between 1920 and 1924: "to govern is to open roads." In his presidency, this motto meant the integration of the country through highways, which would allow the movement of people, goods, and even the reach of government action across Brazil. Over the following decades, this ideal was pursued by various governments, seeking to connect Rio (the country's political center from colonial times until it lost its status as capital, in 1960) with other cities and regions of the national territory.

Throughout the 20th century, the current territory of Maré received road works and a greater influx of migrants, who sought out major urban centers, such as Rio and São Paulo, in search of work in factories, construction, and a better life.

Starting in the mid-20th century, in a gradual process, Brazil shifted its focus from railways to highways. Roads began cutting across the country, and Avenida Brasil — opened in stages throughout the 1940s — was essential for the flow of cars, buses, and trucks arriving in the city of Rio.

Image description: This is an old photograph of an avenue with rows of houses on the left and a stretch of land on the right. On the left, there is a small building with a tile roof, surrounded by vegetation. In the background, there is a larger structure, possibly a public building. Along the avenue, a few people are walking. On the right, there is an open area with some smaller buildings and vegetation. On the horizon, we see mountains covered with trees. The sky is partly cloudy.

The opening of Avenida Brasil, meant to connect the urban area of what was then the federal capital to the rest of the country by road, in order to facilitate the transport of people and goods, also drove the region's population growth, spurred by the establishment of factories and urbanization works, which attracted laborers from all over Brazil. These workers arrived in Rio via this same road and settled on land historically accessible to the poorer population, such as riverbanks, mangroves, state-owned areas, and hillsides.

Driven by this growth on the city's north coast, the old neighborhoods of Bonsucesso, Manguinhos, Ramos, Olaria, and Penha lost their rural character and became increasingly urbanized, with sanitation works, the establishment of military bases, factories, roads, in addition to the various landfills carried out in the region.

Fazenda de Manguinhos, c. 1900-03. Until the 20th century, Manguinhos was a rural neighborhood. Anthony Leeds Collection - Fiocruz. Aerial view of Manguinhos, c. 1960-70. Following the construction of Av. Brasil and other roads, Manguinhos became urbanized, as did Ramos, Olaria, etc. Anthony Leeds Collection - Fiocruz.

Image description: This is an old black-and-white photograph. In the image, we see a series of buildings arranged on an open plot of land. On the left, there is a small house with a sloped roof and simple windows. In the center, there is a larger building with a tiled roof, where several people are gathered near a metal railing. On the right, there is another house similar to the first one, with large windows and a wooden sign hanging on the wall. In the background, we see trees and a hill.

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Imagem 1 de 2: Old buildings in black and white.

Ivan Calado, a resident of Parque União, talks about his arrival in Maré:

Por isso que eles chamam de Maré, porque isso tudo aqui era mar. Na época, não era avenida Brasil, era Variante. Eram duas pistas, uma de subida e uma de descida. E ali havia muito sinal, na época. E aí, ali na João Araújo, mesmo, aquilo foi tudo aterrado. Quando a gente foi morar ali, se tivesse uns 100 metros longe da Avenida Brasil, era muito, porque ali foi um ‘vazador’ de aterro. As pessoas encomendavam caminhões de aterro. As pessoas vazavam aterro ali, outros também, quando começou a fazer aquela obra do metrô, sobrava muita terra, muita areia, então tinha que ter um vazador.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of an urban landscape. On the left side, we see a building with several windows, possibly a public or commercial building. In the center, there is a large building with several towers, which appears to be a hospital or public institution. On the right, there is a road with a few distant cars. In the foreground, there is a wooden wall with a thatch fence. The sky is clear and cloudless.