Naming names: an essay on native categories and their political implications

Abstract

This article has emerged from an initial concern centered around the naming of peripheral territories and their political and/or depoliticizing dimensions inherent in this process, which is intrinsically tied to the repertoire and categories (both theoretical and political) used to comprehend them. Building on this premise, we explore and elaborate on the implications of adopting the term "occupation" to describe peripheral territories in São Paulo. Our analysis engages with the complex interplay of political, ideological, and economic disputes involving different actors, including the State – expressed through institutional presence, police power, legislators, and laws, which generate diverse impacts on these territories – as well as distinct religious organizations, groups engaged in illicit markets, social movements, non-governmental organizations, private sector companies, residents, and academic institutions at both national and international levels. Drawing on empirical research conducted in the district of Grajaú, in the southern zone of the city of São Paulo, Brazil, this study challenges the uncritical adoption of seemingly native categories. Specifically, in the particular case studied, we advocate for the use of the category "favela" from a dissensual perspective, one that disrupts the sensory landscape, assigning it alternative denominations, and contesting meanings that have been instrumentalized by purportedly virtuous actions.

Based on empirical research carried out in the Grajaú district, in the South Zone of the city of São Paulo, we defend the use of the favela category from a dissensual perspective, focusing on the sensitive and giving it other names and disputing meanings instrumentalized by a supposedly virtuous action.