Thanks to the Favelas Project, our Brazilian team’s joint effort to help people in the most disadvantaged communities acquire official titles and regularize their property ownership, more than 6,000 favela residents now have hope. Their inability to own property — and an overall lack of property rights — have long kept them trapped in the slums they have no choice but to call home.

Since the Land Law was enacted in the 19th century, the Brazilian state has claimed ownership of all unowned land. Freed slaves who had nowhere to go and no resources to draw on were forced to build squatter communities on empty land.

But they had no way to secure titles to that land. They could not buy it, and there was no provision for squatter’s rights in Brazilian law.  

A whopping 100 million people lacking official deeds today cannot become full-fledged members of society. They cannot legally sell their property or get a bank loan to start businesses, and they have no guarantees that the government won’t evict them from their homes — which frequently happens when the government decides to “clean up” an area, for example in preparation for a World Cup Soccer match, or any other commercial development.

The Favelas Project: A Turning Point

While residents of favelas are frozen in their current state, unable to move up and create a better life for themselves and their families, the SFL Brazil team started a land tenure regularization project. They partnered with several non-governmental organizations to facilitate the process and to help favela residents gain ownership of their properties — and, ultimately, their lives.

The first was with Instituto Atlântico, a non-profit organization that found a loophole in Brazilian law that would force the state to recognize the property rights of favela residents. They went on to create a legal strategy that could bring regularization to many other communities.

The second partnership was with Atlas Network, which helped our students produce a documentary, diving deep into the nature of the problems that ravage these communities, telling the history of how the Favelas came to be, and showing the courageous entrepreneurial spirit of favela residents.

The video, which aimed to raise awareness about the problem among different social groups, was a huge success. Within the first week of release, it went viral and earned more than 225,000 views. 

Why We Defend Property Rights in Brazil

It was crucial to convey the idea that even those who do not struggle with the absence of a title are still affected by problems rooted in the lack of property rights in the most disadvantaged areas.

Many urban economists believe that granting title deeds in favelas would help residents break the cycle of poverty by providing incentives for investment in physical improvements and fostering small businesses.

This will also lead to less crime, since drug dealers usually occupy territories with insecure land tenure. With the ability to start businesses, favela residents would not have to travel far just to use the necessary services absent in their areas. This will reduce overcrowding and long wait times in more upscale neighborhoods.

The SFL Student Volunteer Behind It All

After watching the first documentary, our Brazilian student volunteer Vitor Graçano partnered with his hometown government in Barroso, Minas Gerais, and, under the Favelas Project, helped 180 families regularize their homes.

He said, “When delivering property titles, we deliver dreams. I saw Students For Liberty Brazil opening the debate on the recognition of housing in the favelas, and it inspired me to bring it to practice in my city.” 

Since 2021, The Favelas Project has been featured in 43 different media outlets, totalling 50 articles, interviews, and videos. 

In one article about a group that received their property documents, Boletim da Liberdade (Bulletin of Liberty) wrote:

One hundred and eighty properties had their documentation formalized by the local land tenure regularization program in Barroso, Minas Gerais. The action, which was put on hold by the municipality, was only resumed thanks to the initiative of Students For Liberty Brasil, which has been debating the right to property in favelas around the country.

Today, Vitor is helping people in several neighboring cities to legalize their property. Thanks to his dedication, more than 800 families received title deeds in the favelas, and many more will get them soon.

Further, SFL’s partnership with an entrepreneur, startup investor, and professor at Link School of Business, Alex Vilela, resulted in the creation of a civil association for the residents of the Nova Esperança (New Hope) community, making it easier for them to receive funds and access legal representation to fight for their property rights and their dignity.

“I partnered in this great project,” he said, “because it brings valuable content to the people who need it most: the people from the favelas. It stimulates entrepreneurship and individual freedom. I believe with all my heart that this fantastic project has to be replicated and scaled in a way that reaches even more areas.”

Next Steps

To reach as many people as possible, our student volunteers went to different neighborhoods to show the documentary and guide favela residents through the process of legalization of their property. The Favelas Project team has created a step-by-step guide to help navigate this complex issue.

One of our biggest challenges is building trust and credibility among the favela residents. “The locals are scared. A lot of people come to their homes to talk about the regularization of their property ownership, then take their money and disappear into thin air,” said Vinicius Albano, the Favelas Project campaign manager. 

He believes that the next step will be creating a website with a Q&A section that will help people around the country safely and reliably receive a title deed. The long-term goal is to open a non-profit organization with full-time staff focused on helping the most disadvantaged communities acquire official titles and regularize their property ownership. 

What the Favelas Project team wants above all is to build trust and credibility, and help as many favela residents as possible. 

In the meantime, the Favelas Project will keep improving the lives and dignity of favela residents throughout Brazil. Through the Project, SFL is helping more people every day to acquire their property rights. And we’re showing those in poverty that they have hope and agency and can achieve freedom and pursue happiness.

Editor’s note: This story was adapted from a previous post: The Favelas Project Is Granting Thousands of Brazilians Property Rights.