Policy

PAC and favela investment

The Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento (PAC), launched by the federal government in 2007, included substantial investment lines for urban-upgrading work in Brazilian favelas. PAC Favelas funded large infrastructure interventions in Rocinha, Complexo do Alemão, Complexo da Maré, and many other communities.

Context

PAC was a federal flagship of the second Lula government (2007–2010). It bundled infrastructure investment across transport, energy, sanitation, and urban-development sectors and was followed in 2010 by PAC 2, in which housing and urban-development became more prominent. PAC Favelas — formally, the Urbanização de Assentamentos Precários line — was the largest single federal favela-upgrading initiative in Brazilian history at the time.

Design and mechanisms

PAC Favelas funded large interventions in selected communities, with the federal government providing the principal funding and state and municipal governments executing the work. Eligible work included infrastructure (water, sewer, drainage, streets), housing reconstruction in particular blocks, social facilities (health centers, schools, child care, sports facilities), and large signature projects in some communities. The selection of communities was concentrated in the largest favelas in major metropolitan areas.

Implementation

Major PAC Favelas interventions included works in the Complexo do Alemão (most prominently the Teleférico do Alemão cable car opened in 2011 and the associated station urbanization), Complexo da Maré, Rocinha (including sewerage works and the Niemeyer footbridge), the Pavão-Pavãozinho-Cantagalo complex in the South Zone, and substantial works in São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Recife, and other cities. In São Paulo, PAC funding combined with municipal Urbanização de Favelas resources to produce significant interventions in Heliópolis and elsewhere; in Belo Horizonte, with the Vila Viva program.

Outcomes and evaluations

Evaluations of PAC Favelas have been mixed. The Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU) conducted multiple audits across the program's history; the audits documented both significant infrastructure delivery and substantial implementation problems, including cost overruns, delays, incomplete work, and in some cases corruption. The Teleférico do Alemão case is widely cited: the cable car was built at substantial cost, operated for several years with limited utility for many residents (its station locations privileged tourism over commuting), and was suspended in 2016 when federal funding for operations lapsed.

Academic evaluations, including by the Observatório das Metrópoles network and by researchers at IPPUR-UFRJ, have documented mixed outcomes across communities, with some interventions producing substantial improvements and others delivering less than the design promised. A recurring theme is the gap between the physical infrastructure delivered and the institutional capacity to operate and maintain it.

Status today

The original PAC Favelas line concluded with PAC 2. The Novo PAC, launched in 2023, includes a renewed favela-investment line under the federal Ministério das Cidades. The framework for its operation builds on lessons learned from the first two phases and has emphasized completion of previously started works and stronger maintenance commitments.