Gentrification device: ethnography of a State intervention in villages of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais

Abstract

This article presents questions regarding State intervention for the purpose of urbanization of favelas in Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Based on the ethnography in the margins of the State, including participant observation in the locality and follow-up of public hearings as well as interlocutory meetings between the residents and the urbanizing company, some reflections on the government urbanization policy of favelas denominated Vila Viva are presented, especially concerning the articulation of diverse elements that end up constituting gentrification dispositive, against which the removed inhabitants have little chance of opposition. In this regard, the case of “carroceiros” will be highlighted as a paradigmatic of the government recognition’s lack in respect of the diverse uses of the territory by the affected people, including the cohabitation of non-human living, especially in the operationalized resettlement model.