The Brazilian Report listed among ‘Best International Reporting on Rio’s Favelas’ 2023

Three articles published by The Brazilian Report last year came in for praise in a media watchdog report that lists the best news coverage of the complexities, challenges, and opportunities in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas in 2023. 

Renowned international outlets such as The Guardian, Reuters, and The New York Times, among others, are also on the list. 

Now in its tenth edition, the annual series monitors the “ongoing conversation on the media narrative and portrayal of favelas,” and is one of the many initiatives of RioOnWatch, a program that describes itself as a tool to “bring visibility to favela community voices.” The project was launched in 2010 in the context of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. 

Among “notable publications on economic topics,” the report notes a story written last July by reporter Amanda Audi about the untapped potential of favelas. The report delves into the economic gears of the favela, revealing the billion-real amount of capital that flows through it and the resulting business opportunities that exist there — but often remain hidden by opportunity gaps. 

Another piece signed by Ms. Audi later in September, titled “Extreme climate events only serve to deepen Brazil’s inequality,” was described by RioOnWatch as “a backdrop to highlight Brazilian injustice regarding access to the most basic resource for existence, water, especially in times of extreme heat.” 

The report also addressed the issue of public security, particularly the disproportionate use of police force inside favelas — an unfortunately common occurrence in Brazil. In that sense, it positively mentions Constance Malleret’s piece on the lethality of police bullets in Rio, which explained in August that such aggression is already a public health issue.

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