ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM AND TERRITORIAL VULNERABILITY IN MANGUINHOS (RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL): DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE OF SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL INEQUALITIES

Abstract

Environmental racism constitutes a structural phenomenon in Brazilian metropolises, manifesting through the unequal distribution of environmental risks and living conditions among different population groups. This article aims to analyze, based on documentary evidence and socio-environmental indicators, how historical processes of territorial inequality and social exclusion contribute to the contemporary configuration of environmental racism and territorial vulnerability in Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro. The research, qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive in nature, was based on documentary research and bibliographic review, analyzing data from IBGE, IPP, Fiocruz, and IPEA produced between 2010 and 2025. The results show that Manguinhos concentrates unfavorable indicators: approximately 94.93% of households with income below R$ 1,020.00 and 11.56% with simultaneous absence of essential services, associated with precarious urban infrastructure, sanitation deficiencies, and exposure to hydrological risks. It is concluded that the observed territorial vulnerability does not constitute a natural condition, but a result of historical processes of socio-spatial segregation and unequal distribution of public investments, compatible with the concept of environmental racism. The study contributes to broadening the discussion on environmental justice and the right to the city in Brazilian peripheral territories.