Igor B. Cardoso
The protests against the removal of Favela do Pasmado did not sway the policy adopted by the governor of Guanabara, Carlos Lacerda. Headed by Sandra Cavalcanti, the Secretaria de Serviços Sociais evicted 116 families who lived in the Getúlio Vargas favela, in the neighborhood of Leblon. The residents were sent to Vila Kennedy, in Bangu, and to the Parques Proletários of Leblon and Gávea.
The removal, which began at 7 a.m., was intense and included the presence of Magarino Torres, a lawyer who had taken part in the land tenure regularization of Morro do Borel in the 1950s, which culminated in the creation of the União dos Trabalhadores Favelados. Torres tried to convince the residents to stay in the favela, but ended up arrested by order of the governor himself. The lawyer also accused Sandra Cavalcanti of promoting the purchase of shacks in favelas to house public employees, with the intent of giving the impression that the residents themselves agreed with the transfer to the housing complexes.
The demolition of the favela was justified by the goal of building a road to connect Avenida Mário Ribeiro to Visconde de Albuquerque and to ease access to Hospital Miguel Couto. Despite the argument used, Carlos Lacerda and Sandra Cavalcanti did not hide their wish to exclude the poorest part of the population from the areas of the city better served by infrastructure and services. For the Secretary, the coexistence between favela residents and the “economically successful community” was a “clash of cultures, desires and aspirations.” With the end of the UDN government in Guanabara, both Lacerda and Cavalcanti went on to join real estate and development companies, profiting from civil construction.
Image description: This is a black and white photograph of the forced removal of a favela. The image shows a plot of land covered with debris and wood, with several people scattered across the site. On the left, we see two women walking over the debris. In the center, there are more people, some appearing to be organizing objects. In the background, there are residential buildings and trees.Remoção de moradores da Favela Getúlio Vargas.
Rio de Janeiro, 14 de março de 1964. Marco Aurélio Manoel. Fundo Correio da Manhã / Arquivo Nacional.