Brazil's official term for poor communities has conveyed stigma. A change has finally been made
Brazil's statistics and geography institute has announced it will start using “favelas and urban communities” to describe thousands of poor urban neighborhoods
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — After decades of delay and pressure, Brazil announced Tuesday that it will henceforth use “favelas and urban communities” to categorize thousands of poor, urban neighborhoods, instead of the previous term “subnormal agglomerates” that was widely viewed as stigmatizing.
Starting in the 1990s, the national statistics and geography institute, known by its Portuguese acronym IBGE, began using “subnormal agglomerates” to describe places with irregular occupation and deficient public services.
The umbrella term included not just favelas — most commonly associated with dense, hillside neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro — but also a slew of other terms employed across Brazil, like grottoes, lowlands, stilted houses and more, where millions reside.
The name change announced in a statement follows a process of reflection that began in the 2000s, and IBGE held more than 20 internal meetings and then several more with a consultation group of outside experts, according to its geography coordinator, Cayo Franco.
