To Get out of the Mud

TO GET OUT OF THE MUD
Willem Assies
To Get out of the Mud
Neighborhood Associativism
in Recife, 1964 -1988
A CEDLA Publication
Centrum voor Studie en Documentatie van Latijns Amerika
Centro de Estudios y Documentación Latinoamericanos
Centro de Estudos e Documentaçäo Latino-Americanos
Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation
Keizersgracht 395-397
1016 EK Amsterdam
The Netherlands / Paîses Bajos
ISBN 90 70280 93 0
© 1991 CEDLA
No part of th is publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, e1ectronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the. copyright
owner.
GIP-GEGEVENS KONINKLIJKE BIBLIOTHEEK, DEN HAAG
Assies, Willem
To get out of the mud: neighborhood associativism in Recife, 1964-1988/ Willem
Assies. - Amsterdam: Centrum voor Studie en Documentatie van Latijns Amerika,
CEDLA. - (CEDLA Latin America Studies: 63)
Ook verschenen als proefschrift Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht, 1992. - Met 1it. opg.
ISBN 90- 70280-93-0
NUGI649
Trefw.: sociale bewegingen; steden; Brazilië; wijkorganisaties ; Recife ; democratisering.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
ix
List of acronyms
x
Introduction
1.
1.1.
1.2.
1.3.
IA.
1.5.
1.6.
1.7.
2.
2.1.
2.2.
2.3.
204.
3.
3.1.
3.2.
3.3.
4.
4.1.
4.2.
4.3.
404.
5.
5.1.
5.2.
5.2.1.
Urban Social Movements: Theory and Project
Theory as a discursive matrix
The "paradigm of the 1970s"
Excursus: What's new?
A paradigm fractured
Bringing the state back in
Urban social movements, democratization and
institutional innovation
Concluding remarks
35
37
Metropolis of an Underdeveloped Region
The colonial period
The process of regionalization in the 19th century
The "swollen city"
A final remark
43
44
46
51
54
The Hills, the Swamplands and the in Between
Recife in a century of accentuated growth
The time of eclipses
Concluding remark
55
56
60
65
Spotlights on Pernambuco
Populist democracy: 1945-64
The troubled land
Neighborhood associations and municipal polities,
1945-1964
The populist and the popular
69
71
74
Order ...• and Progress?
Love it or leave it: Brazil 1964-1979
Urban policies
Administrative and financial centralization
89
90
92
93
v
9
12
15
19
27
33
83
87
5.2.2.
5.2.3.
5.3.
5.3.1.
5.3.2.
5.4.
5.4.1.
5.4.2.
5.5.
5.5.1.
5.5.2.
5.5.3.
5.6.
The Nationa1 Housing Bank
Metropo1itan planning
A metropolis for distorted deve10pment
Nai1ed to the cross of the new avenues
The "log ie of the system"
The hiBs, the swamp1ands and the Church: urban
associativism, 1964-1979
Operaçäo Esperança
Movimento de Evange1izaçäo Encontro dos Irmäos
Confliets and movements in the 1970s
The Earth trembles ....
Stubborn BrasHia
A changing conjuncture
Conc1uding remarks
6.The Polities of Abertura
6.1.
Brazil "in transition"
A metamorphosis of political discourse
6.2.
A "New Conception of Planning"
6.2.1.
Urban zoning and the Projeto Recife
6.3.
Urban zoning
6.3.1.
Projeto Recife
6.3.2.
Revitalizing the Capibaribe
6.3.3.
A changing policy sty1e
6.4.
The System of Communitarian Action
6.4.1.
The Caminhos Comunitários Program
6.4.2.
The politicization and "identity crisis" of the
6.4.3.
planning agencies
Confliets over land
6.5.
6.5.1.
The System of Communitarian Action and the
regu1arization of landholding
Terras de Ninguém
6.5.2.
New invasions
6.5.3.
Corone1 Fabriciano versus Tancredo Neves
6.5.4.
Inter1ude: the "polities of abertura" revisited
6.6.
The making of urban socia1 movements
6.7.
"At the service of the popu1ar movement"
6.8.
Articulating the movement: "sectorai" articu1ations
6.9.1.
The Assemb1éia de Bairros
6.9.2.
The transportation prices campaign
6.9.3.
The Federaçäo de Bairros da Regiäo Metropolitana
6.9.4.
vi
94
96
99
102
107
112
114
118
122
125
130
133
135
138
140
143
144
146
147
149
150
154
155
157
160
163
163
166
168
170
173
174
177
183
184
187
6.9.5.
6.10.
6.11.
do Recife
The Movimento de Defesa dos Favelados
Associativism in transition
Concluding remarks
193
193
196
200
7.
7.1.
7.2.
7.3.
7.3.1.
7.3.2.
7.3.3.
7.304.
704.
7 04.1.
7.5.
7.5.1.
7.5.2.
7.5.3.
7.6.
7.7.
7.7.1
7.7.2.
7.7.3.
7.704.
7.7.5.
7.8.
Exercises in Institutional Innovation
Whither democracy?
The 1985 municipal elections in Recife
The issue of "participation" in the 1985 elections
Movement demands
The candidates respond
The de bate
The "campaign document"
"Listening to the Movement"
Discussing a Popular Council
Programa Prefeitura nos Bairros
The implementation of the Program
The movement's uneasiness
The Budgeting and Planning Assembly
Reorienting Projeto Recife
The Special Zones of Social Interest
The spirit of the law
From proposal to law
The operationalization of the PREZEIS
The Permanent PREZEIS Forum
Brasilia Teimosa again
Concluding remarks
205
209
211
214
216
220
223
226
228
232
239
242
250
255
260
263
264
268
271
276
278
280
8.
Conclusion
285
Appendix
Movimento Terras de Ninguém: Letter to the President of the
Republic, April 1978
Dweller's Council of Brasilia Teimosa: Manifesto of
October 1979
Federation of Neighborhoods of the Metropolitan Region of
Recife (FEMEB)
Law of the Favelas: PREZEIS with DRU
vii
297
299
303
307
Summary
Resumo
Samenvatting
309
311
313
Bibliography
315
Maps
Recife Municipality: Some Neighborhoods
Metropolitan Region of Recife: Municipalities
Political Administrative Regions
Hill Areas and Numbers of Favelas per Political
Administrative Region
Special Zones of Social Interest (ZEIS)
viii
42
97
241
242
272
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study is the result of my stay at the Center for Latin American Research and
Documentation (CEDLA) which gave me the opportunity to carry out research in
Brazil and the facilities to complete the manuscript. I would like to thank the
CEDLA-staff for their help, support and endurance throughout these years. Special
mention should be given to Geert Banck and David Slater who accompanied the
project from the start and to Ton Salman and Kees de Groot whose coffee-break
conversations, to mention just one thing, have been of invaluable help. Thanks also
go to the participants in the "Onderzoeksgroep Latijns Amerika" (OLA) at CEDLA,
the "Amsterdam Research Committee - New Social Movements" at the Graduate
School of Social Science (PdIS) for their stimulating discussions and their comments
on parts of this study and to Sheila Gogol for her revision of the manuscript.
In Brazil, I would like to thank the many people who so generously let me
share in their thoughts, their beer, food, dreams and nightmares. Special thanks go
to the Centro Josué de Castro which helped me find my way in Recife and
provided facilities throughout my fieldwork period in 1988, to Jan Bitoun at the
Faculty of Geography of the Federal University of Pernambuco and to Jaime de
Boer whose conversations have been of invaluable help in understanding the
workings of the neighborhood movement in Recife. Last but not least, I should
thank Os wal do Pereira da Silva, Fernando Soares Campos and Renato José Alves
who assisted me in carrying out the research.
ix
LIST OF ACRONYMS
ACO
ANPOCS
ARENA
ARRUAR
ASPE
BNH
CCC
CE AS
CEB
CELPE
CGT
CIMI
CNBB
CNDU
CNPU
COHAB
COMPESA
COMUL
CONDEPE
COSINTRA
CPT
CRC
CSU
CTU
CURA
CUT
DICON
DOPS
EBTU
EMPREL
EMTU
Açäo Católica Operária
Associaçäo Nacional de Pós-Graduaçäo e Pesquisa em
Ciências Sociais
Aliança Renovadora Nacional
Assessoria de Urbanizaçäo Popular
Associaçäo dos Sociólogos de Pernambuco
Banco Nacional de Habitaçäo
Comando de Caça aos Comunistas
Centro de Estudos e Açäo Social
Comunidade Ecclesial de Base
Companhia de Eletricidade de Pernambuco
Confederaçäo Geral dos Trabalhadores
Conselho Indigenista Missionário
Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Urbano
Comissäo Nacional de Regiöes Metropolitanas e Politica
Urbana
Companhia de Habitaçäo Popular
Companhia Pernambucana de Saneamento
Comissäo de Urbanizaçäo e Legalizaçäo
Conselho de Desenvolvimento de Pernambuco
Conselho Sindical dos Trabalhadores do Estado de
Pernambuco
Comissäo Pastoral da Terra
Companhia de Revenda e Colonizaçäo
Centro Social Urbano
Companhia de Transportes Urbanos
Comunidades Urbanas para Recuperaçäo Accelerada
Central Unico dos Trabalhadores
Diretoria de Controle U rbanistico
Diretoria de Ordem Politica e Social
Empresa Brasileira de Transportes Urbanos
Empresa Municipal de Processamento Eletrönico da
Prefeitura do Recife
Empresa Metropolitana de Transportes Urbanos
x
ETAPAS
FABEB
FASE
FCP
FEACA
FECOPE
FEMEB
FEMOCOHAB
FGTS
FIDEM
FNDU
FNEBM
FPM
GAJOP
GRAC
GTDN
IAA
lAB
IBAD
lCM
IFOCS
INOCOOP
IPI
IPTU
IR
ISS
ITER
LBA
MCP
MDB
MDF
MEB
MNU
NGO
NPC
OAB
PCB
Escritório Têcnico de Assessoria, Pesquisa e Açäo Social
Federacäo das Associacöes dos Bairros do Estado de
Pernambuco
Federaçäo de Orgäos para Assistência Social e Educacional
Fundaçäo da Casa Popular
Federaçäo das Associaçöes, Centros Comunitários e
Conselhos de Moradores de Casa Amarela
Federaçäo Comunitária de Pernambuco
Federaçäo de Bairros da Regiäo Metropolitana do Recife
Federaçäo das Associaçöes de Moradores dos Nucleos
Habitacionais de COHAB e Similares de Pernambuco
Fundo de Garantia por Tempo de Serviço
Fundaçäo de Desenvolvimento da Regiäo Metropolitana do
Recife
Fundo Nacional de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Urbano
Fundaçäo Macional do Bem Estar do Menor
Fundo de Participaçäo do Municipio
Gabinete de Assessoria Juridica às Organizaçöes Populares
Grupo de Açäo Comunitária
Grupo de Trabalho para 0 Desenvolvimento do Nordeste
Instituto do Açucar e Alcooi
Instituto dos Arquitetos do Brasil
Instituto Brasileiro de Açäo Democrática
Imposto de Circulaçäo de Mercadorias
Inspetoria Federal de Obras Contra as Sêcas
Instituto para Orientaçäo de Cooperativas
Imposto sobre Produtos industrializados
Imposto Predial e Territorial Urbano
Imposto de Renda
Imposto Sobre Serviços
Instituto de Teologia do Recife
Legiäo Brasileira de Assistência
Movimento de Cultura Popular
Movimento Democrático Brasileiro
Movimento de Defesa dos Favelados
Movimento de Educaçäo de Base
Movimento Negro Unificado
Non Governmental Organization
Nucleo de Planejamento Comunitário
Ordem de A vocados Brasileiros
Partido Comunista Brasileiro
xi
PDC
PDI
PDLI
PDM
PDR
PDT
PFL
PLANHAP
PMDB
PP
PR
PREZEIS
PROFILURB
PROMORAR
PSB
PSD
PT
PTB
RMR
RPA
SAB
SAC
SAPP
SBPE
SEDIPO
SEHAB
SERENE
SERFHAU
SFH
SSCM
SUDENE
TIP
UBR
UDN
UEP
URB
ZEIS
Partido Democrata Cristäo
Plano de Desenvolvimento Integrado
Plano de Desenvolvimento Local Integrado
Plano de Desenvolvimento Metropolitano
Plano de Desenvolvimento do Recife
Partido Democrático Trabalhista
Partido da Frente Liberal
Plano Nacional de Habitaçäo Popular
Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro
Partido Popular
Partido Republicano
Plano de Regularizaçäo das Zonas Especiais de Interesse
Social
Programa de Financiamento de Lotes Urbanizados
Programa de Erradicaçäo da Sub-Habitaçäo
Partido Socialista Brasileiro
Partido Social Democrático
Partido dos Trabalhadores
Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro
Regiäo Metropolitana do Recife
Regiäo Politico Administrativa
Sociedade de Amigos de Bairro
Sistema de Açöes Comunitárias
Sociedade de Plantadores e Pecuaristas de Pernambuco
Sistema Brasileiro de Poupança e Empréstimo
Setor de Documentaçäo e Informaçäo Popular
Secretaria de Habitaçäo
Seminário Regional do Nordeste
Serviço Federal de Habitaçäo e Urbanismo
Siste ma Financeiro de Habitaçäo
Serviço Social Contra 0 Mocambo
Superintendência do Desenvolvimento do Nordeste
Terminal Integrado de Cargas e Pasageiros
Uniäo dos Bairros do Recife
Uniäo Democrática Nacional
Uniäo de Estudantes de Pernambuco
Empresa de Urbanizaçäo do Recife
Zonas Especiais de Interesse Social
xii