Urban policy, communication, and organization in informal neighborhoods in Brazil and Colombia: Vila Autódromo and Samanes del Cauca1

Abstract

This article compares the genesis, consolidation, removal and resettlement of two informal neighborhoods: Vila Autódromo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Samanes del Cauca (Cali, Colombia), with emphasis on organizational and communicative aspects based on three semi-structured interviews: one in Samanes del Cauca (January 2019), another in Vila Autódromo (January 2020), and a third shared via videoconference (November 2020) with the leaders of the two neighborhoods. The comparison of both processes based on the testimony of the protagonists has yielded significant results on the processes of emergence, consolidation strategies and forms of state control and administration of these neighborhoods, as well as the political mobilization actions of the inhabitants, from the perspective of communication as an organizational resource.