McCann’s vibrant study surveys the recent political history of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas—the mostly unplanned urban neighborhoods where the working poor built, bought, or rented housing. He starts with the high watermark of the favela-association movement that emerged to represent residents threatened by favela removal projects toward the end of Brazil’s military government (1964–1985). He argues that the favela associations challenged the divide between the formal city and its informal favelas.
Most favela associations mobilized their constituents to elect the socialist politician Leonel Brizola as Rio de Janeiro’s state governor in 1983. Brizola promised to halt favela removal and to give residents legal title to their property. His campaign spurred many to invade land and quickly construct a home because they anticipated that, once in office, Brizola would legalize their property rights. McCann argues, however, that Brizola’s election removed the threat of removal, which led favela residents and their...