Mudanca do Garcia

“Mudança do Garcia” is one of the most popular Carnival events in Salvador, as a traditional arena for political protest. Thousands of people from Garcia neighbourhood converge on the city centre. The tradition takes place on Carnival Monday, and started in the mid-1930s when middle-class families began to move to Garcia and sought police support to close a famous brothel that operated there at the time. On the day of their eviction, the women brothel workers left Garcia in horse-drawn chariots, dressed in fancy costumes, and followed by a band and a parade of protesting customers. Following this tradition, Pathways Latin American used this popular space in 2007 for another women’s protest, this time to support the creation of the State Bureau for Public Policy for Women, promised by Governor Jacques Wagner during his campaign, and again after his victory. However, once in Office Governor Wagner did not fulfil his promise, creating instead a Bureau to combat Racial and Sexual Discrimination, and nominating a man to head it. With this action, Pathways Latin America hoped not only to draw public attention, including the local and, hopefully, national media, as a means of building new constituencies in support of the bureau, but also to voice their protest against the disregard of the new government for the demands of the women’s movements in Bahia. This short documentary documents this alternative means of building constituencies for gender equity and justice.