- Introduction
- Study Area
- Community Mobilization
- Education and Health
- Employment
- Infrastructure
- Land Tenure
- Conclusion
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The issue of land tenure is complex and problematic. However, without resolving the question of land ownership, squatter communities develop extremely slow, largely due to insecurity and an unwillingness to commit time and resources to making improvements when land ownership is uncertain. The largest obstacle to regularizing land ownership (and subsequently infrastructural improvement), is both the unwillingness and inability of local governments to properly rectify land title.
Generally, when favelados have security of land ownership, housing and other improvements quickly follow, often with financing from savings, overseas remittances, family assistance and/or formal and informal borrowing. However, positive examples of legalization of squatter settlements are hard to come by. In some cases, government programs legalizing land titles and assisting in infrastructural development have only resulted in unaffordable costs to the residents, who ultimately had to move away. This is largely the case in communities where many residents are paying rent for their shelter, and cannot afford any further monthly payments.
To engage in a process of legalizing land tenure requires a great deal of organization on the part of the community. Technical assistance in gaining an understanding of such a process will likely require the participation of a local NGO or University. Confronting the local government and guiding its willingness to address land tenure may be the most difficult task. However, government's participation is essential.
We do not suggest legalization as an initial strategy for community mobilization. The process of legalizing land title will take a number of years to organize and implement. To begin, however, the community should demand that the local government resolve all titles to ensure that the community of Cachoeira is entirely located on public land. From there, community residents can pursue guarantees that they will not be evicted. This agreement could take many forms. It may be possible for example, to negotiate a long term lease for the entire community. Nominal payments not only formalize such an agreement, but the monthly communal collection for the lease provides an excellent vehicle for community outreach and organizing. The general goal in securing some type of guarantee from the government is to allow residents to claim more ownership and freedom to pursue more improvements in the community. The process of recording land surveys, arbitration and issuance of title to individual lots can be done at a later time when there is greater stability and organization to undertake these complicated details.