Hunger as an intersectional experience of gender, race, class and territory: an ethnographic analysis of politics of existence in a favela in Rio de Janeiro

This article offers an anthropological analysis of hunger, grounded in the lived experience of Luiza, a resident of the Tripé Favela in Rio de Janeiro. Drawing on a long-term ethnography spanning seven years of fieldwork following the lives of women living in this favela, the article examines the political production of hunger, taking as a starting point women’s experiences and the ways in which hunger can shape and (re)organize social relations across different contexts. The narrative centers on Luiza - a Black woman, mother of nine, and favela resident - whose life is marked by a daily struggle against hunger and a continuous search for better days. Hunger is a multidimensional phenomenon, understood not merely as a biological condition, but as a phenomenon deeply embedded in structures of social, political, cultural, and environmental hierarchies. The analysis also explores the role of social programs, non-governmental organizations, and of donations in mitigating hunger, as well as the complex dynamics of power, solidarity, and surveillance that arise in this process.