Little remembered these days, Esqueleto was a favela that is no longer part of the city map. Eradicated in 1965, it was then the fifth largest favela in Rio de Janeiro, constituting itself as a strategic housing space for several workers. Although much has already been written about its expropriation process, however, the formation of that locality, which began in 1934, has still been little explored in academic studies of the field – which very often overlook the experience of residents of this type of locality. As a result, the story of Esqueleto ended up being reduced to the act that marked its end, leaving the motivations and logic of those who inhabited it in the shadows. In reverse, this dissertation seeks to understand the formation and development of that locality from the perspective of its own residents. Without losing sight of its relationship with the State and the negotiations involved in it, we seek to privilege the analysis of the experience of the residents and their daily agency, in order to try to understand both the logic of the construction and growth of the Esqueleto and the paths of struggle of the local residents. for the right to the city.