ResidentsofMorrodoPasmadoareevictedfromtheirhomes

January 18, 1964

Igor B. Cardoso

Residents of Morro do Pasmado, one of the most beautiful postcard views of Guanabara Bay, in Botafogo, were evicted from their homes in early 1964. On the orders of the Governor of Guanabara, Carlos Lacerda (UDN), the shacks were set on fire days later, in order to prevent the 911 families from returning. Lacerda believed that Pasmado, due to its privileged location, was being wasted. The working-class houses should give way to a park or, perhaps, a tourist hotel.

In Lacerda's plans, the residents were to be transferred to Bangu, in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, dozens of kilometers from where they were removed. There, housing developments were built, such as Vila Aliança and Vila Kennedy, using funds from the Alliance for Progress, the result of an agreement with the United States government. In a speech to the press, Sandra Cavalcanti, Secretary of Social Services of Guanabara, defined Operation Pasmado as the "first social revolution carried out in Brazil."

Against the euphoric tone, some newspapers reported the population's climate of dissatisfaction. In Bangu, where they had been relocated to, residents had no running water, no public lighting, transportation was poor and, to make matters worse, they had to pay a monthly fee for housing they didn't want, without even receiving compensation for the shacks destroyed by the government. One of the residents of Pasmado let loose against Sandra Cavalcanti: "this lady talks about Bangu with her mouth so full, you'd almost think Bangu has a beach!".

Lacerda's urban policy was part of a broader picture, which pitted the Guanabara state government against the federal government of President João Goulart (PTB). Going against the grain of the state government, Goulart proposed an urban reform in which some idle properties in upscale areas of the city, especially those benefiting from real estate speculation, could be expropriated for occupation by favela residents. In this way, residents would not be displaced to peripheral areas, remaining close to their families and jobs, as well as to the already established urban infrastructure. Not by chance, complaints of violence committed against removed residents were directed to the Presidency of the republic, expressing an understanding of two distinct policies – state and federal – toward favela residents.

With the coup and the ousting of legislators, the removal policy lost its opponents in Congress. In turn, it sparked debate and organization among favela residents. Etevaldo Justino de Oliveira, director of the Federação das Associações de Favelas do Estado da Guanabara, summed up what would become the start of the movement against the favela removal policy: "No to Bangu: yes to favela urbanization!"

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph showing a group of people in an urban setting. On the left side, there is a wooden fence with a support structure. In the center, men are carrying heavy objects, while a woman and children walk along the street. On the right, there is a brick building with a window and a visible Coca-Cola sign.