Via-crúcis, freeway: political dynamics and religious grammars in the way of Transolímpica

Abstract

This article presents and analyzes the mobilization motivated by the Transolímpica in its course through Magalhães Bastos, a neighborhood of the western zone of Rio de Janeiro. Interviews, documents and records of meetings involving residents and agents of “state” between 2012 and 2015 highlight the strategies and grammars articulated by a local commission interested in preventing the demolition of hundreds of houses in the neighborhood. Through this case, dynamics and techniques of government of the “Olympic city” are highlighted, drawing attention to the complexity of these processes and the combination in situ of religious and secular projects, articulated in local contexts and through certain power relations.

Keywords
politics; cidade; mega; events; Transolímpica; Rio de Janeiro