The Case of Rio de Janeiro: Exploring Geographies of Resistance and Domination

Abstract

With a population of 6 million residents, the city of Rio de Janeiro lost part of its political and economic prestige with the transference of the capital to Brasília in 1960. Rio is the second city, responsible for around 5 % of the nation’s GDP (Census 2010). The economy relies mostly on service activities, culture, and tourism. The city houses multinational offices, banking and finance headquarters, and heavy industries such as shipbuilding and chemicals. The city is, however, marked by drastic contracts between wealth and poverty. According to the 2010 census, 10 % of the population accounted for 60 % of all personal income, while 10 % accounted for less than 2 %. The 2010 Census identified around 6,329 “subnormal agglomerates” (i.e., special interest zones) that make up around 6 % of the Brazilian population (11,425.644 inhabitants). The state of Rio de Janeiro has 1,332 “subnormal agglomerates” with a total population of 2,023.744, only behind São Paulo (2,715.067 residents). The metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro has 1,393,314 residents living in “subnormal agglomerates”—around 22.16 % of the total population. Some of these agglomerates are located close to the wealthier areas of the city, promoting a tense proximity between actors who are economically very distant from each other.