GREAT, GOOD, AND DIVIDED: THE POLITICS OF PUBLIC SPACE IN RIO DE JANEIRO

Question 1

What is the article about?

Answer 1

The article is about the public space in Rio de Janeiro, particularly in the elite beach neighborhood of Ipanema, and the conflictual social space stratified along race and class lines.

Question 2

What is a third place?

Answer 2

A third place is a location, as defined by Ray Oldenburg, where neighbors, friends, and colleagues plug into and out of an ongoing public social life.

Question 3

What is the main argument of the article?

Answer 3

The main focus of the reading is the vibrant public realm in Rio de Janeiro’s beach neighborhood of Ipanema, and how it is both a conflictual social space stratified along race and class lines, and a space of political possibility for the otherwise excluded majority

Question 4

What does the author question in the article?

Answer 4

The author questions the notion of public space as the location of an organic civil society that greases the wheels of commerce, promotes democracy, and solves its own problems in the common interest.

Question 5

What does the author argue about Ipanema’s public space?

Answer 5

The author argues that Ipanema’s public space represents political possibility for the otherwise excluded majority, despite the conflictual social space stratified along race and class lines.

Question 6

What is the article discussing?

Answer 6

The article is discussing the public spaces in Rio de Janeiro and the idea of democratic public spaces.

Question 7

What is the primary activity in Rio’s public spaces?

Answer 7

The primary activity in Rio’s public spaces is conversation.

Question 8

What is the author’s argument regarding Rio’s public spaces?

Answer 8

Despite the superficial resemblance to the egalitarian ideal, Rio’s public spaces are fundamentally divided by class and race, and most conversations do not cross the social divide.

Question 9

What does the myth of democratic public space do in Rio’s public spaces?

Answer 9

The myth of democratic public space helps maintain social control in Rio’s public spaces in this very polarized society.

Question 10

What is the significance of Rio’s public spaces for the marginalized poor?

Answer 10

While in other deeply divided cities the marginalized poor are excluded from any meaningful public realm, in Rio they at least have some small access to one important stage of public life and are not easily ignored.

Question 11

How do Cariocas, or natives of Rio, view their public spaces?

Answer 11

Cariocas view their public spaces as “democratic public spaces” where people from all walks of life can share the space and engage in conversation.

Question 12

What is the myth of democratic public space?

Answer 12

The myth of democratic public space refers to the belief that Rio’s public spaces are open and inclusive, promoting social harmony and equality. This myth helps maintain social control but also gives Rio’s poor majority the right of entry to some key arenas of Rio’s public life.

Question 13

What is the dominant view on globalized cities today?

Answer 13

The dominant view is that globalized cities are becoming increasingly polarized and have lost vibrant public spaces, which used to bring diverse people together to form communities and polities.

Question 14

What role did public spaces play in communities and politics?

Answer 14

Public spaces played a role in bringing diverse people together to form communities and polities, allowing citizens to meet face to face, develop relationships, feel like equals, and engage in dialogues with one another.

Question 15

What does Ray Oldenburg argue about “third places”?

Answer 15

Ray Oldenburg argues that “third places” like neighborhood pubs or cafes, which are neither workplace nor home, are important for socializing, making contacts, developing a sense of community, and fostering political opinions. He laments the loss of these places due to car-oriented suburbanization.

Question 16

What are some criticisms of the idealization of historical spaces of democratic conversation?

Answer 16

Criticisms include the fact that these spaces often involved subtle class conflict, were exclusive clubs for certain classes, or excluded certain groups of people such as women. These idealized spaces may not have engaged in as much philosophical or political debate as suggested.

Question 17

Why might Latin American cities have not suffered the same decline of public space as North American cities?

Answer 17

Latin American cities may not have suffered the same decline because they have not gone through the same postwar process of suburbanization and the rise of automobile culture. They have maintained their “plaza-centered” structure and culture.

Question 18

What approach does the author use to examine the politics of actually existing public spaces?

Answer 18

The author uses a Marxist-Feminist approach, drawing on Gramsci, Lefebvre, de Certeau, Pred, and Massey, which sees the production of space as hegemonic struggle, where spaces shape people and are shaped by people in a contested process involving class, race, and gender.

“Rather than seeing society as an organism that collectively moves toward healing itself, or a collection ofindividuals who submit their voices to the ideas marketplace so that an invisible hand may selectthe best outcome, I see society as divided along various lines across which power is exercised and resisted, particularly those of class, race, and gender. In the public space of the city, politics can be
anything from electoral campaigns on the streets, to parades and demonstrations, to conversations
that challenge, reinforce, or rework hegemonic discourses, to behavior and speech that support
or offer an alternative to the dominant order.”

Question 19

How does São Paulo’s fortification compare to Los Angeles?

Answer 19

São Paulo’s fortification is more extreme than that of Los Angeles.

Question 20

What are some security measures taken by the middle and upper classes in São Paulo?

Answer 20

They live in suburban gated communities with high walls, high-tech security systems, and armed guards, modify street-front homes by adding walls and security systems, and travel in bullet-proof cars with bodyguards or helicopters.

Question 21

What factors contributed to the poverty and inequality in the Third World and Latin American cities?

Answer 21

The historical process of uneven capitalist development, favoring some places and classes while punishing others with dispossession and devaluation, as well as the economic violence during the neoliberal period.

Question 22

How has the crime situation in Rio de Janeiro evolved since the 1980s?

Answer 22

Rio has become increasingly polarized since the 1980s, with increased inequality, a rise in violent crime, and an increase in elite fear

Question 23

What is the relationship between fear of crime and crime statistics?

Answer 23

Fear of crime, or “talk of crime,” is not directly related to crime statistics.

Question 24

How have high-profile actions by organized drug gangs impacted the middle-class in Rio de Janeiro?

Answer 24

They have fueled elite fears, leading to fortification and avoidance of public spaces, and causing some middle-class Cariocas to change their habits, such as avoiding driving on certain roads at night.

Question 25

Despite the fear of crime, how is the public space in Rio de Janeiro described?

Answer 25

Rio’s public space is alive and well, shared by people from all walks of life, and seen as spaces of democracy, citizenship, and conversation on good days.

Question 26

What is the myth of Rio’s democratic beach?

Answer 26

The myth of Rio’s democratic beach is the belief that when people visit Rio de Janeiro’s beaches, they leave their social status, race, and other differences behind, creating an equal and democratic environment.

Question 27

How is the myth of Rio’s democratic beach related to racial democracy?

Answer 27

The myth of Rio’s democratic beach is connected to the broader concept of racial democracy, which is the idea that Brazil is a color-blind society with harmonious race relations and that Brazilians are characterized by their cordiality in everyday interactions.

Question 28

What are the three subnarratives of the democratic beach discourse?

Answer 28

People shed their status when they shed their clothing, making it difficult to distinguish social differences on the beach.
Although status differences exist, they are irrelevant on the beach due to its democratic nature, allowing people of all classes to share the space equally.
The diverse mix of people on the beach is seen as democratic without stressing inequality, marveling at the eclectic assortment of individuals and subcultures that coexist on the sand.

Question 29

What are Habermas’s literary salons and Oldenburg’s third places?

Answer 29

Habermas’s literary salons and Oldenburg’s third places are social spaces where people from diverse backgrounds gather and interact in an egalitarian and democratic manner. These spaces foster conversation, intellectual exchange, and a sense of community.

Question 30

How do Rio’s beaches resemble these third places?

Answer 30

Rio’s beaches resemble third places by providing a public space where people from different social backgrounds can interact and engage in conversation.

Regulars at these beaches form loose social groups called “turmas” that meet at specific spots on the beach, creating an informal and democratic environment for socializing.

Question 31

What is a “turma”?

Answer 31

A “turma” is a loose social group that meets regularly at a particular spot on the beach or at a bar.

Members of a turma are long-standing acquaintances who enjoy each other’s company, engage in conversation, and often don’t know much about each other’s private lives or social status.

The benefit of a turma is that social life is ready and waiting for members whenever they feel like showing up. They don’t have to make arrangements or use the telephone.

Question 32

What is “bate-papo”?

Answer 32

“Bate-papo” is a Portuguese term for casual conversation or “shooting the breeze.” It involves light politics, gossip, sexual innuendo, and other word games. Bate-papo is a common activity among turmas at Rio’s beaches.

Question 33

What is the significance of anonymity and egalitarianism in conversations within a turma?

Answer 33

Anonymity and egalitarianism in conversations within a turma allow members to put aside their social status and be judged by their conversational skills. This creates a more equal and democratic environment where people can engage with each other without being influenced by their social standing.

Question 34

Who are the key players in a turma?

Answer 34

The key players in a turma are informal “mayors” of a particular stretch of sand or a particular bar. They are called “public characters,” and they are the glue that holds the group together.

Public characters move between turmas, introducing people, holding down the fort when no one else turns up, providing the seed of a gathering that can grow into a lively crowd. They integrate groups that might otherwise not talk to each other.

Question 35

What is the role of conversation in third places?

Answer 35

In third places, the entertainment is provided by the people themselves. The sustaining activity is conversation, which is variously passionate and light-hearted, serious and witty, informative and silly. And in the course of it, acquaintances become personalities and personalities become true characters.

Question 36

What is the unwritten code of conversation in a turma?

Answer 36

The unwritten code of conversation seems to proscribe exchanging personal information that might indicate social status. Status seems to be more derived from skill in the conversation than anything else.

Question 37

What is the role of third places in Rio’s beach neighborhoods?

Answer 37

Rio’s beach neighborhoods have social spaces that look a lot like Oldenburg’s third places.

These are not primarily consumption spaces, although a multitude of vendors earn their livings supplying food and drink to beach crowds. People are very regular about their use of beach and bar, and often refer to them as their offices.

They are welcoming places, where a degree of anonymity allows people to put aside their social status to some extent, and be judged by their conversational skills.

Question 38

What is the main problem with Rio’s third places?

Answer 38

Rio’s third places fall short of Oldenburg’s ideal because they are fundamentally divided by class and race.

Question 39

What is the Zona Sul?

Answer 39

The Zona Sul is an elite enclave in Rio de Janeiro’s beach neighborhoods of Copacabana and Ipanema, which is hemmed in by the coastal mountain range.

Question 40

Who lives in the hills surrounding the Zona Sul?

Answer 40

The hills surrounding the Zona Sul are covered with the jumbled cinder-block homes of the poor who serve the formal neighborhood below as maids, nannies, and security guards, or eek out a precarious living as informal vendors and odd-jobbers in the streets and on the beach.

Question 41

What is the consensus understanding in Rio about who belongs where on the beach?

Answer 41

Despite the democratic beach narrative, there is a consensus understanding in Rio about who belongs where on the beach. The stretch of beach is commonly divided according to social groups and landmarks.

Question 42

How have informal beer vendors divided up beach territory?

Answer 42

On a more micro scale, beach-goers patronize particular informal beer vendors who have divided up every inch of beach territory and established their spheres of operation.

Each beer stand has its particular character and reputation, often associated with the lifestyle or class background of its patrons.

Question 43

What is the social makeup of beach turmas?

Answer 43

The beach turmas themselves are relatively closed social groups. While the “anonymous bodies” touted in the democratic beach discourse do allow a certain social ambiguity, turmas generally mean that people socialize with others like themselves.

Question 44

How do Cariocas read each other’s social status on the beach?

Answer 44

Despite assertions that everyone is equal in their bathing suits, Cariocas are expert at reading each other’s social status from skin color, dress (not all bathing suits are created equal), language, behavior, and consumption habits

Question 45

What is the difference between people from the local favela and poor people from remote suburbs on the beach?

Answer 45

People from the local favela are more civilized and know how to behave on the beach. Poor suburban residents arrive at the beach with all sorts of stuff, wear huge Bermuda shorts, run everywhere they go, and swear constantly. They don’t know how to act and sometimes it’s their first time on the beach.

Question 46

How are poor suburban visitors to the Zona Sul seen by local beach users?

Answer 46

Poor suburban visitors to the Zona Sul are seen as out of place by local beach users. They are referred to as invaders, they stand out in numerous ways despite the claim of democratic anonymity on the beach, and they are discriminated against.

Question 47

What is the result of the discrimination faced by poor suburban visitors on the beach?

Answer 47

Poor suburban visitors are discriminated against on the beach due to ideas about proper beach behavior and who belongs and who does not. This discrimination is elaborated in the endless bate-papo on the sand.

Question 48

What is the history of spatial segregation in Rio de Janeiro and how has it impacted beach access?

Answer 48

In the early 20th century, the poor migrated north following railroad lines and industry while the upper classes migrated south to a series of beach neighborhoods, connected to the center by streetcar lines.

The isolation of the beach neighborhoods has helped the wealthy insulate themselves from the poor masses. Access to the beach has always been difficult for the majority of Rio’s population, with beach-goers from the Zona Norte and beyond needing to transfer multiple times between train, bus, and subway to get to Ipanema.

This trip can take 2 to 3 hours and is quite expensive for the majority of Rio’s population.

Question 49

How does transportation policy contribute to the class politics of the beach?

Answer 49

Transportation policy is one arena where the class politics of the beach becomes apparent. While the Zona Sul has been relatively self-sufficient in terms of entertainment, leisure, and shopping, most white-collar employment continues to be located in the historical center. In the first half of the 20th century streetcars and a handful of tunnels allowed Zona Sul residents to commute to jobs downtown.

With the rise of the Brazilian automobile industry in the post-WWII period, this infrastructure became inadequate, and successive governments during the 1950s and 1960s built a series of tunnels and roadways to bring Rio into the automobile age and integrate the Zona Sul. Since then, bus lines, elevated freeways, and the subway system have continued this integration.

Question 50

What is the history of beach neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro?

Answer 50

Nineteenth-century Rio was a much more compact, more socially integrated city. With the urban reforms of the beginning of the 20th century, the poor migrated north following railroad lines and industry, while the upper classes migrated south to a series of beach neighborhoods, connected to the center by streetcar lines.

Question 51

Why is access to the beach difficult for the majority of Rio’s population?

Answer 51

Access to the beach has always been difficult for the majority of Rio’s population. Beach goers from the Zona Norte (North Zone) and beyond sometimes need to transfer more than once between train, bus, and subway to get to Ipanema. The trip can take 2 to 3 hours and is quite expensive for the majority of Rio’s population.

Question 52

How has transportation policy affected the class politics of the beach in Rio de Janeiro?

Answer 52

Transportation policy is one arena where the class politics of the beach becomes apparent, and a series of infrastructure interventions have promised (or threatened) to integrate the Zona Sul into the rest of the city since the beginning of the 20th century.

While upper-class Zona Sul residents have benefitted from these changes, each of these interventions has caused controversy, and the legitimacy of the poor using the tunnels, freeways, and subway to access the beach for leisure is contested territory.

The establishment of express bus lines in 1984 by then-governor Leonel Brizola to move poor Zona Norte residents quickly and efficiently to the neighborhoods of the Zona Sul became a site of broader political struggle.

Question 53

What was the impact of Brizola’s bus on the class politics of the beach in Rio de Janeiro?

Answer 53

Brizola’s bus was a direct attack on elite privilege and enabled lower-class residents of Rio’s Zona Norte to access the beach more easily. Elite residents of Ipanema, on the other hand, saw it as the turning point for the decline of their neighborhood. The culture clash on the beach caused by the arrival of lower-class beachgoers was even parodied in a 1985 hit song called “Nos vamos invadir sua praia” (We are going to invade your beach).

Question 54

What is the controversy surrounding the establishment of the 461 bus line in Ipanema?

Answer 54

The establishment of the 461 bus line in Ipanema led to controversy, with elite residents seeing it as an attack on their privilege. A controversial newspaper article reported on elite reactions, with residents vacillating between the discourse of the democratic beach, a class-based sense of order and entitlement, and overt racism.

The residents used the pejorative term “farofeiros” to refer to poor beach goers, criticizing their supposed lack of proper beach manners and elaborate picnic lunches, which often included chicken and farofa, in the elite stereotype.

Question 55

What is the meaning of the term “farofeiro” in the context of the controversy over beach access?

Answer 55

The term “farofeiro” is a pejorative term for poor beach goers, referring to farofa, a dish made from manioc flour. Elites used the term to criticize the elaborate picnic lunches that the poor supposedly brought to the beach, which often included chicken and farofa in the elite stereotype.

Elites also criticized a supposed lack of proper beach manners among farofeiros, who were said to throw sand around, play-fight and roll in the sand, so that their dark bodies were often covered in white sand that resembled farofa.

Question 56

Who staged a protest on the beach against Ipanema “elitists”?

Answer 56

Joao Melo, a suburban resident, staged a protest on the beach against Ipanema “elitists.”

During his protest on the beach, Joao Melo unpacked an elaborate picnic lunch, put up a banner that said “Suburbanos, Farofeiros at leisure,” and posted a copy of the “Suburban Clouds” article.

Question 57

How did some of the new beach goers feel about their presence in Ipanema?

Answer 57

Some of the new beach goers seemed to relish the effect their presence had on the quiet bastion of privilege, and some particularly enjoyed making elite women uncomfortable, exercising a certain power on the streets and on the sand that they do not possess in the rest of their lives.

Question 58

When was the 461 bus suspended temporarily, and why?

Answer 58

The 461 bus was apparently suspended temporarily in early 1987 after Wellington Moreira Franco beat Brizola’s candidate in the gubernatorial elections. A newspaper reported the success of this move, saying “Not long ago weekends were disrupted by bathers coming from Sao Cristovao, on the 461 bus. With the extinction of the line, the beach became calm again…”

Question 59

What is the Linha Vermelha (Red Line)?

Answer 59

The Linha Vermelha is an elevated freeway that connects the international airport, the Federal University, and the sprawling periphery of the Baixada Fluminense, to the Rebouc¸as Tunnel and thus to Lagoa and Ipanema.

The Linha Vermelha was finished in 1992.

Question 60

What is the Linha Amarela (Yellow Line)?

Answer 60

The Linha Amarela is a major elevated freeway that connects downtown, the airport, and the Federal University to Barra da Tijuca.

The Linha Amarela was inaugurated in 1997.

The Linha Amarela has shifted suburban beach goers away from Ipanema and Copacabana, and changed the social geography of beach use in Barra da Tijuca.

Question 61

What do Barra elite call their suburban invaders?

Answer 61

The Barra elite have come to call their suburban invaders “yellows” in a reference to the freeway.

Question 62

When was the first subway station opened in Copacabana?

Answer 62

The first subway station in Copacabana was opened in 1998.

Question 63

How did the opening of the Copacabana subway station connect the neighborhood to the city’s subway system?

Answer 63

The opening of the Copacabana subway station finally connected Rio’s most populous and most famous neighborhood to the city’s modest subway system

Question 64

How did the opening of the Copacabana subway station affect the beach crowd in Barra da Tijuca?

Answer 64

The opening of the Copacabana subway station changed the social geography of beach use in Barra da Tijuca, as the subway became an accessible option for residents of the poor, sprawling Baixada Fluminense suburbs beyond Rio’s municipal boundaries to the north.

Question 65

How did the subway system change the access to Copacabana’s beach for residents of the Baixada Fluminense suburbs?

Answer 65

The subway system made it possible for residents of the Baixada Fluminense suburbs to reach Copacabana’s beach in a little over an hour’s ride.

Question 66

What was the suggestion made by a reader to manage the crowds during holidays and weekends at Copacabana beach?

Answer 66

A reader suggested that the fare be raised to R$2 on holidays and weekends or that service be ended at noon to manage the crowds during holidays and weekends at Copacabana beach.

Question 67

When did the subway finally start running on Sundays and what impact did it have?

Answer 67

The subway finally started running on Sundays in 2004, allowing easier access to beach recreation and income for Zona Norte residents on the most important beach day of the week. This was a transportation improvement that could have been implemented years earlier but was delayed, possibly to protect elite privilege.

Question 68

What rules were in place for beachgoers who intended to use the subway when the first Copacabana station was opened?

Answer 68

It was prohibited to ride without a shirt, in a bathing suit, or with wet clothes. Passengers wearing sandals, with sand on their bodies or carrying surf boards were not admitted.

The subway began to embrace recreational passengers with the beginning of Sunday service in 2004, establishing special cars for bicycles and surfboards, and even showing a passenger with a surfboard in a promotional video.

Question 69

What is the argument about the right to leisure that has been discussed in Rio’s newspapers and beaches?

Answer 69

The argument is about the right of the poor to leisure and whether alternatives could be provided in Zona Norte neighborhoods

Brizola’s idea was to build model schools called CIEPs throughout the state of Rio de Janeiro and equip them with swimming pools.

The president of the Vigario Geral residents’ association laughed at the idea of a pool in Vigario Geral and suggested going to the beach instead, as there had been a water shortage for 10 years.

Question 70

What did the government do in 2001 to provide an alternative to Rio’s polluted beaches?

Answer 70

The government built artificial lakes in response to suggestions from elite beach-goers to provide an alternative to Rio’s polluted beaches.

Question 71

Why are ocean beaches like Copacabana, Ipanema, and Barra cleaner than the beaches surrounding the Guanabara Bay?

Answer 71

Ocean beaches like Copacabana, Ipanema, and Barra are much cleaner due to constantly circulating ocean currents.

Question 72

What is the Piscinao de Ramos?

Answer 72

Piscinao de Ramos is a giant artificial saltwater lake with 26,000 square meters of surface area, containing 30 million liters of water, and built on the edge of Guanabara Bay in the heart of Rio’s poor Zona Norte.

The Piscinao de Ramos was inaugurated in December 2001.

The purpose of the Piscinao de Ramos is to provide leisure for some residents of the Zona Norte.

Question 73

What has the Piscinao de Ramos allowed wealthy Zona Sul residents to do?

Answer 73

The Piscinao de Ramos has allowed wealthy Zona Sul residents the opportunity to affirm their class identity.

The response of elite Cariocas to the Piscinao de Ramos has been to laugh and see it as a glimpse at that other Rio that they deny and try to keep at a distance.

Question 74

What is the reason for politicians in Rio to push for infrastructure projects?

Answer 74

Politicians in Rio push for infrastructure projects to be able to point to completed public works as concrete signs of working for the people and to be judged by the population on what they have built.

Question 75

What was the first and most infamous riot on the beach in Rio?

Answer 75

The first and most infamous riot was the arrastão that occurred on October 18, 1992.

Question 76

What happened during the arrastão?

Answer 76

Beachgoers from Rio’s poor neighborhoods had been lining up at bus stops since the early morning, and by noon, the beaches of the Zona Sul were packed with people, including a large contingent of poor, mostly dark-skinned, teenagers from different Zona Norte neighborhoods.

Fights broke out on the Arpoador section of the beach between groups of working-class teenagers from rival Zona Norte favelas. Panic and stampedes spread throughout Ipanema and Copacabana in waves all through the afternoon, and gangs of poor teenagers took advantage of the panic to grab valuables that were left behind and, in some cases, to attack wealthy beach goers.

Riots spilled off the beach into the streets where some vandalism and looting were reported.

Since the 1992 incident, arrastao has come to mean any mass robbery, either in crowded public places or on highways or tunnels.

Question 77

What is an arrastao?

Answer 77

It is a type of riot or mass robbery that involves large groups of people, often targeting beach goers and collecting valuables in their path.

The first arrastao occurred on October 18, 1992, during the first sunny Sunday of the summer.

Question 78

What happened during the 1992 arrastao?

Answer 78

Working-class teenagers from rival Zona Norte favelas fought on the beach, creating panic as people tried to get away from the trouble.

Gangs of poor teenagers took advantage of the panic to grab valuables and in some cases, to attack wealthy beach goers.

The riots spread throughout Ipanema and Copacabana, and some vandalism and looting were reported.

Question 79

Why did the arrastao of 1992 shock middle-class Cariocas?

Answer 79

The arrastao of 1992 shocked middle-class Cariocas because it resembled a long-held fear of the poor masses rising up in a violent fashion and because it contradicted the myth of the democratic beach.

Question 80

What is the social contract associated with the beach in Rio?

Answer 80

The social contract associated with the beach in Rio is class peace on the beach in exchange for the right to use the beach for leisure and as a source of income.

Question 81

What is the elite discourse on arrastoes, and how does it differ from the democratic beach discourse?

Answer 81

The elite discourse on arrastoes is characterized by fear and racism, and it reflects a breakdown of the democratic beach narrative. Elite media accounts describe scenes of complete chaos and hordes of black kids storming down the beach, attacking and stealing from everyone in their path. In contrast, the democratic beach discourse represents the beach as a cordial, democratic, and inclusive space in Rio de Janeiro.

Question 82

How do different public spheres on the beach view the arrastao differently?

Answer 82

There are at least two disconnected public spheres on the beach, with the elite viewing the arrastao as a violation of the “sacred” space of the beach and a breakdown of the social contract between classes, while the working-class beach users invoke their democratic right to the beach and point out the contradictions of the elite position

Question 83

How do working-class beach users view arrastoes?

Answer 83

They are consistently cynical about arrastoes, with the most common belief being that there are no arrastoes, only gang fights.

They believe that rich people run for no reason, and that the media invents arrastoes, often to manipulate elections.

They also view arrastoes as a pretext to discriminate against poor black people, and believe that everyone has the right to use the beach.

Question 84

What do black police officers in Copacabana think about arrastoes?

Answer 84

Most black police officers in Copacabana deny the existence of arrastoes in the form presented by the press and residents of the neighborhood. They see the term as a pretext to discriminate against poor black kids on the beach and feel pressured into harassing black youth because of perceived bias.

Question 85

What was the first impulse of Zona Sul residents following the 1992 riots?

Answer 85

The first impulse of Zona Sul residents following the 1992 riots was to restrict access to the beach. The new Linha Vermelha freeway was blamed for the disturbances and the outgoing mayor resorted to policing beach access as a way to limit the flow from North to South.

Question 86

What is the real public sphere like in Rio’s Zona Sul beach neighborhoods?

Answer 86

In addition to being convivial, there is an undercurrent of struggle in the public space of Rio’s Zona Sul beach neighborhoods. Class distinctions are refined and reproduced in conversations that rarely cross social lines. Competing consensus public opinions emerge from disconnected publics. The real public sphere is political in a messy, conflictual, and unjust way.

Question 87

What is the importance of the public space of Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro?

Answer 87

The public space of Ipanema is important as it serves as a symbolic space of citizenship in Carioca society, occupied by a cosmopolitan cultural elite who provide a connection to other arenas of the public sphere.

The beach conversations and other practices on the beach are an important part of a larger politics. It is a reminder to the upper classes that the poor majority always makes their presence felt despite attempts to exclude them.

Furthermore, it is a space where the poor majority can step into the public sphere and represent themselves as a legitimate part of ‘the public’

Question 88

Where does Freeman disagree with Oldenburg?

Answer 88

Freeman disagrees with Oldenburg’s notion of “third places” as discursive democracies where differences are erased, and the best ideas rise to the top on their own merits. Instead, Freeman argues that public spaces, while convivial and socially thick, do not necessarily lead to a discursive democracy.

The real public sphere is often messy, conflictual, and unjust, with conversations and competing consensus public opinions emerging from disconnected publics. Contrary to Oldenburg’s idea of “third places” as spaces that promote democracy, solve problems in the common interest, and serve as the location of an organic civil society that greases the wheels of commerce, Freeman sees public spaces as arenas where the terms of unjust social orders are challenged, negotiated, and largely reproduced, representing political possibilities for the otherwise excluded majority.

Question 89

How is public space political?

Answer 89

Conflictual social space: The public spaces in Ipanema, such as the beaches and bars, are conflictual social spaces stratified along race and class lines. They are sites where the terms of Rio’s unjust social order are challenged, negotiated, and largely reproduced.

Competing consensus public opinions: In these public spaces, conversations and interactions often emerge from disconnected publics, leading to competing consensus public opinions. This highlights the political nature of public spaces as they shape public opinion and discourse.

Access and exclusion: The politics of beach access and the 15-year-old tradition of beach riots demonstrate how public space is a contested terrain where different social groups struggle for their right to access and participate in public life.

Symbolic space of citizenship: The beach is a symbolic space of citizenship in Carioca society, with access to that space being an ongoing struggle. Public spaces in Ipanema, like the beach, represent political possibilities for the otherwise excluded majority.

Latent power of the majority: The presence of the poor majority in public spaces like the beach serves as a reminder of the latent power they possess, as they have disrupted elite privilege before and may do so again in a more systematic and decisive fashion.

Question 90

What is the myth of the democratic beach?

Answer 90

The myth of Rio’s democratic beach refers to the belief that the beach acts as an equalizing force, bringing people from diverse social, economic, and racial backgrounds together in a harmonious, egalitarian setting. This idea stems from the notion that when people visit the beach, they shed their clothing and, along with it, their social status and distinctions.

The narrative emphasizes three main aspects: the shedding of status through reduced clothing, the acknowledgment of social contrasts but their perceived irrelevance on the beach, and the celebration of the diverse mix of people as a symbol of democracy.

However, critics argue that this narrative simplifies the complex social dynamics and inequalities that continue to exist even in public spaces like the beach. The myth of Rio’s democratic beach is a contested concept that can serve as both a discourse of social control, maintaining class peace on the beach, and a discourse of entitlement, ensuring the inclusion of marginalized groups in this significant space of citizenship.