The Citizens of Porto Alegre

The Citizens of Porto Alegre: "8 Marco is a self-employed handyman in his mid-30s who moved to the city of Porto Alegre from the Brazilian countryside eight years ago. A primary-school-educated son of a farmer, he�d had few opportunities in his small town and had heard about the city�s generous social services. He borrowed money for bus fare and landed in Porto Alegre, where he found construction work. But when his wages wouldn�t cover rent he headed for one of the squatter settlements on the outskirts of the city. He soon moved in with a companheira who sewed clothes and ironed from home. In time his life became more settled, with incremental improvements to the house, small but growing savings, and brisk business owing to his good reputation in the community. Marco�s story of migration, squatting, and survival was unremarkable�until he attended a local meeting on how the city government should invest its money in the region. /.../"