TheBelleÉpoqueandthe"bota-abaixo"(tear-down)

In the early twentieth century, Rio de Janeiro definitively assumed the status of a "great European capital." Cultural and artistic life was intense. It was the time of lectures, of the consolidation of the press, and of the emergence of the automobile. Everyone wanted to live the city's golden age. Whatever happened in Paris could happen in Rio de Janeiro. In the elegant salons, and even in the more modest ones, French and English were spoken. Even coffee was replaced by five o'clock tea.

Image description: This is a comparison of two historical black-and-white photographs. The image on the left shows the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in 1900. From the left side toward the center, we see a wide avenue lined with trees on both sides. There are many cars and people walking or riding in carriages. The houses and buildings are arranged symmetrically, with a clear sky on the horizon. On the right, we see Avenida Central (later Av. Rio Branco) in the 1920s. From the left side toward the center, we see a similar avenue lined with trees. There are more buildings and structures, including a large domed building on the right. The sky is cloudy on this side.

On the left, the avenue des Champs Élysées in 1900, and on the right, Avenida Central (already Av. Rio Branco), in the 1920s. espacomorgenlicht

The year 1903 was decisive. Named mayor at the end of the previous year, Pereira Passos was a genuine representative of the new times: owner of the Corcovado Railway (opened in 1884) and active member of the Engineering Club (1880), he studied in France and followed Baron Haussmann's reforms closely. He fit perfectly the profile of a modern, enterprising man envisioned by the elites. For the modernization project to be carried out, President Rodrigues Alves granted the mayor sweeping powers: the day before his appointment, a federal decree was issued suspending the Municipal Council — which opposed urban renewal — for six months and placing control of the bureaucratic machine firmly in his hands.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of an elderly man. He is seated, wearing a classic suit with a shirt and tie. His white beard and hair are well groomed. The image is rectangular, with the man's face centered.

Photograph of Francisco Pereira Passos. Author unknown, 1890. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Census of Rio de Janeiro (Federal District) conducted on 09/20/1906 (published 1907).

For Pereira Passos and his team of intellectuals, the urban structure was not adapting to the new times. The "social inferno" and the lack of basic sanitation caused unrest and negatively influenced foreigners, who were afraid of contracting tropical diseases. It was necessary to eliminate the colonial staleness and bring Brazil closer to the production and trade of Europe and the United States.

With the backing of Rodrigues Alves, the Catholic Church, civil and military institutions, and the major press, the mayor launched his reform plan, which became known as the "Bota-Abaixo" (Knock-Down). The construction of Avenida Central, a major landmark of the reform, created the conditions for communication between the commercial center and the port, which was also renovated. In addition, it was integrated with Avenida Beira-Mar, easing traffic for those who lived or stayed in the Glória, Catete, and Botafogo areas.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of a two-story building located on a corner. On the left side, we see a structure with balconies and windows. In the center, the main building has a light-colored façade, with many windows and a signboard at the top. The sign announces "Property Seizure for Avenida Central - Final Clearance Sale." At the bottom, there are shops with empty display windows. On the right, we see more buildings and a street.

Two-story building to be demolished for the urbanization works in downtown Rio, located on Rua dos Ourives between Rua da Alfândega and Rua do Hospício. n.d. Photo by Augusto Malta. Arquivo Geral da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro.

Strategically placed in the beautified city and despite all the policies aimed at their extermination, amid the construction sites and machines, the peddlers and turkey sellers, Black market women (quitandeiras) and sellers of giblets, and, finally, the kiosks, still held on. As paradoxical as it may seem, the kiosk trade grew enormously during the “Bota-Abaixo” period, since they guaranteed food for the reform's workers. Newspaper chronicles highlighted the “rage” that Pereira Passos harbored toward the kiosks, the turkey sellers and the sellers of beef giblets, because they “clashed with the refinement of downtown” (Maul, n.d., p. 35).

The "underground nation" endured. Alongside the refinement of modern man were urban types tied to the "encampments of misery." These were the overlooked professions described by João do Rio: the "opium smokers," "the presepe makers," "the sellers of holy cards" and of "popular books," "the markers," "the ragpickers," "the rat catchers," "the stamp sellers," and others developed by the "academy of misery."

If, on the one hand, an aura was created of a city of progress, of a capital-nation that protected and guaranteed wealth and that could contain all the images of Parisian modernity, on the other hand, the city of misery persisted. The reform tried to hide poverty, displaced it to the suburbs and the hills, and the favelas began to become part of the modern city's landscape.

Image description: This is an old photograph of an urban square. The image is in black and white, with a wide perspective that captures both the space and the details of the buildings. On the left side, we see a row of two-story houses, with sloped roofs and evenly spaced windows. In front of them, there is a horse-drawn carriage, stopped on the sidewalk. In the center of the image, a large architectural structure, possibly a market or a public building, with an open entrance and a central column. In the background, other buildings and structures extend to the horizon, where a few towers and domes stand out. On the right, closer to the camera, are more low buildings and a tree. The sky is clear, indicating a sunny day.

The new buildings carried the eclectic style and art nouveau details. But all of this would prove ephemeral, the new had already been born old. The renovations of that early century belonged to the backward-looking modernity of the 19th century and did not correspond to the new ideas that arrived with the 20th century, which was only just beginning.