Rio-City-State

In October 1960, after the capital moved to Brasília and the Federal District was transformed into the State of Guanabara, Carlos Lacerda - the 1st governor elected by universal suffrage (1960-1965) - began a series of urban interventions. In a city where the lack of water was sung about in samba, he built the Guandu River aqueduct and expanded the public hospital network by 30%. He almost doubled the number of children in school and increased the number of teachers by more than 50%. He built 6 km of tunnels, including Rebouças, and was responsible for carrying out the Parque do Flamengo project, conceived and executed by his friend Lotta de Macedo Soares. To finance the works, he raised taxes and fees and improved tax collection, relying on substantial financial aid from the USA, which supported Brazilian leaders opposed to the Jango government.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph showing a construction site under development. On the left side, we see a wooden and metal structure, apparently part of the project. In the center, there is a large opening in the rock, which appears to be a tunnel or cave. On the right, there is a staircase providing access to the cave. In the background, we see an area with vegetation and a building partially covered by a protective netting. At the bottom of the image, there is a sign with text in Portuguese, but it is not possible to fully read the details.

Rebouças Tunnel in 1965 - Secretaria de Obras Públicas - Arquivo Geral da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro / Brasiliana Fotográfica

On the other hand, it triggered a wave of removals that caused many protests and harmed the less privileged population, who were taken to distant housing complexes without proper infrastructure. His administration was accused of burning the shacks of Pasmado, whose residents had been transferred to the remote Vila Kennedy. According to a report by the newspaper Última Hora, the Serviço de Repressão à Mendicância exterminated homeless people and then threw the bodies into the Guarda river. Although the governor punished those responsible, he earned another nickname, "o Mata-Mendigos."

Image description: The image is an old black-and-white newspaper. At the top, there is a prominent headline with information about the newspaper's date and edition. Below, there is a main text highlighting a news story about beggars being killed by police officers. On the right, there are two photos of people, one of them holding an object that looks like a weapon. The photo on the left shows two figures of people in motion, possibly in a confrontation or fighting scene.

Article about the extermination of homeless people. Última Hora, January 25, 1963, p. 9 - ed. 1032 - Digital Newspaper Library

He ended up losing the 1965 election. His opponent and successor, Negrão de Lima, governed the State of Guanabara between 1965 and 1970, expanding the city's status as capital through the implementation of major public works, enhancing the value of the seafront, and introducing a new concept of boardwalk designed for pedestrian use in Copacabana and other seafront neighborhoods, which would later allow for the creation of bike paths.

With the intensification of the dictatorship and after the enactment of AI-5 (December 13, 1968), the fifth and last governor of Guanabara was chosen by the vote of the majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly. That was how Antônio de Pádua Chagas Freitas came to power, taking office on March 15, 1971. Then, in 1975, another change: the merger of the states of Rio de Janeiro and Guanabara, with the city-state returning to the "status" of a municipality, governed by mayors. His term ended exactly four years after he took office, on March 15, 1975, with the merger of Guanabara with Rio de Janeiro into a single state.

The first governor of the new state was Vice-Admiral Floriano Peixoto Faria Lima, chosen by general-president Ernesto Geisel. As for the former city-state, now with the status of a municipality, its mayor would be Marcos Tamoyo, appointed by the new governor. Marcos Tamoyo turned his attention to Downtown, taking advantage of the implementation of the first subway line, inaugurated by the Faria Lima administration.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of five men in formal attire, possibly from the mid-20th century. On the left side, a man stands with his back to the camera, looking down. Beside him, another man faces forward, also looking down. In the central area, a third man is bent over a table, apparently signing documents. Behind him, two men are standing, watching with applauding gestures. All are wearing glasses and ties. On the table, there are microphones marked "Agência Nacional."

Inauguration of the 1st governor of the state of Rio, Floriano Peixoto Faria Lima, chosen by general-president Ernesto Geisel. Photo by Sebastião Marinho, 03/15/1975. Agência O Globo Collection

After Marcos Tamoyo (1975-1979), 4 other mayors were appointed: Israel Klabin (1979-1980), Júlio de Morais Coutinho (1980-1983), Jamil Haddad (1983), and Marcello Alencar (1983-1985).

Diretas Já, redemocratization, and only then did the second mayor elected by universal suffrage take office: Saturnino Braga. A brilliant, respected, honest, and admired intellectual, he defeated Rubem Medina by a wide margin of 20% of the votes (Saturnino 38% x Rubem 18%). However, his administration was disastrous: taking over the government of a city with a high level of debt, which had persisted since the 1970s (until then, the city hall had always managed to roll over the debts), by the end of his term he declared the bankruptcy of the municipality of Rio, despite his undeniable good intentions.

The main action of Saturnino Braga, mayor between 1986 and 1988, was to carry on the Projeto Corredor Cultural (Cultural Corridor Project), started in 1979, which revitalized the city's architectural heritage, valuing its eclectic collection and

art deco

Under Marcelo Alencar's administration, the city hosted ECO 92 and entered ecological culture. Works along the seafront and in reserve areas changed the urban mobility system with bike lanes and the city's visual makeover.

Image description: The image is a detailed map of an urban area, likely a Brazilian city. The spatial layout begins on the left, where we see streets and avenues marked with names such as "Praça Onze," "R. Frei Caneca," and "R. Visc. do Rio Branco." Moving to the right, we find neighborhoods such as "Campo de Santana," "Cinelândia," and "Santa Teresa." In the center, areas such as "Centro" and "Uruguaiana" stand out. On the right, there is a maritime area named "Enseada da Glória." The map is colored, with different colors representing the streets and neighborhoods.

The Corredor Cultural project was consolidated in Law No. 1,139, of December 16, 1987. Image taken from the article by Nina Pinheiro Bitar, available on the SciElo platform

After Saturnino, direct elections for mayor took place normally, as in the other Brazilian state capitals: Marcello Alencar, César Maia, Luiz Paulo Conde, César Maia, Eduardo Paes, Marcelo Crivella and, once again, Eduardo Paes.

The 12-year period between 1993 and 2005, during which César Maia alternated at city hall with Luiz Paulo Conde, was marked by the depoliticization of the mayor's role, who came to act as an administrator of the city. There were major interventions, and different projects were carried out, mainly through the Favela Bairro and Rio Cidade programs.

Still in the 1990s, a new concept emerged in the field of urban planning: strategic planning, introduced by the then Secretary of Urbanism, architect Luiz Paulo Conde. The first project with this profile was the City Strategic Plan (PECRJ),

Rio, always Rio

from 1993, which pointed to the need to reposition the city in order to reverse the alleged crisis of lack of investment. The PECRJ also inaugurated the adoption of urban marketing as a tool for the city's international projection, which meant building a new centrality for a city that had once been the capital of the Empire and of the Republic, as well as the country's only city-state. It was from this that the first candidacy of Rio de Janeiro to host the 2004 Olympic Games was born.

In 2004, back at city hall again, Maia launched a new Strategic Plan:

Cities within the city

which proposed subdividing the city into twelve macro-zones with specific plans; The plan treated each region of the city independently and favored developments isolated from the street space, such as the

Cidade do Samba

,

Gamboa;

City of Music

,

in Barra da Tijuca; or the

City of Children

,

in Santa Cruz.