Formalize the Informal? the "Pacification" of Favelas in Rio De Janeiro

What is the boundary between formalization and informalization?  Why does the state attempt to formalize the informal space and how does it do so?  Will the effort of formalization produce new forms of social, spatial, and political order amid the expansion of informality in the Global South?  This paper tackles these issues by examining the current effort of favela "pacification" in Rio de Janeiro.  As one of the most visible manifestations of urban informality, favelas of Rio de Janeiro have gone through several regulatory and upgrading programs but none have succeeded.  Starting in late 2008, Rio de Janeiro's State Government has been placing a special police unit called Pacifying Police Unit (Unidades de Policia Pacificadora, UPP) inside some favelas and providing public services to the residents in order to regain control over territories long lost to drug traffic and reintegrate the economically challenged communities into society.  As of September 2013, thirty-three favelas were "pacified" in Rio.  Despite the official discourse of crime control and public goods provision, the "pacification" program is highly controversial.  Based on fieldwork and archival research, this paper investigates the main characteristics and consequences of the "pacification" program.  It shows that the purpose and approach of the formalization effort is largely shaped by the state's agenda of global image building.  As the city of Rio will host two major sporting events -- the FIFA 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, an event-led planning and governing ethos is at work that caters the global audience whereas marginalizes the local demands, thereby is hard to have an impact which is both substantive in scale and lasting in impact.  By neglecting the interest of local communities and denying the channels of public participation, the effort of formalization is symbolic and paradoxically creates new space for informality.