Métropoles (Nov 2017)
Les petits commerçants informels des favelas face à la régularisation électrique : entre tactiques, ajustements et inadaptations
Abstract
Following the selection of Rio de Janeiro as the host city of several major international events, a multitude of measures have been introduced in the favelas by both public and private stakeholders. These measures aim to produce a socio-spatial order in these neighborhoods inspired by neoliberal policies. This article analyzes this process by examining the effects of electricity regularization on the daily practices of small informal businesses in two favelas in the southern zone of Rio de Janeiro, Santa Marta and Cantagalo. This regularization process, the aim of which is to ban illegal connections, leads to the "silent" transformations of traders' practices, manifested by tactics, adjustments and also shortcomings. More broadly, these practices seem to show the co-production of a socio-spatial order in which traders seek to guarantee their place in the favela, and which goes beyond the issue of access to electricity as part of a commercial service.
