Neither dead nor alive: Participatory slum governance as a zombie program

Abstract

This article focuses on PREZEIS, an internationally acclaimed participatory slum governance program in Recife, Brazil. PREZEIS was implemented in 1987 and emerged out of a strong popular movement that resisted forced evictions of squatter settlements under the military regime (1964–1985). To date, however, its main objectives—upgrading slums and regularizing land rights—have not been achieved, and its executive powers have been dismantled over the years. We argue that this institutionalization of a popular movement gave birth to a “zombie program” that lives off the past and refuses to die. We advance the zombie metaphor through the Lacanian notion of “fetishistic disavowal,” of knowing PREZEIS is “dead” but still believing it can be revived through ritualistic, fetishistic activities. We argue that the challenge is to accept its death, opening up the possibility for something truly new to arise. In the conclusion, we also explore how this factors into broader debates on urban post-politics.