THE GRAMMAR OF REDEMOCRATIZATION AND THE INVENTION OF THE TERM “FAVELA” IN RECIFE (1984–1990)

Abstract

This article analyzes the use of the term “favela” in the Pernambucan press between 1984 and 1990, using editions of the Diário de Pernambuco available in the National Library's Digital Newspaper Archives as the primary source. The objective is to understand how local media constructed representations of the favela during the redemocratization period and how these narratives incorporated stigmas that shifted the term's meaning from a category linked to precarious housing to a marker of criminality and urban threat. The research combines bibliographic review and documentary analysis, utilizing a stratified classification of 121 articles selected via random sampling from nearly two thousand occurrences found in the newspaper. The results reveal frequent mentions of “favela” in the police section, reinforcing a criminalizing framing.