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The social organisation of Bengui, a favela in Belem in the Brazilian Amazonia, is based on a strong mobilisation of its inhabitants to create associations with the objective of improving conditions in their daily lives. These popular urban movements are linked to the political situation in Brazil and draw together key issues in local politics. Their action campaigns make use of rich imagery which attract the attention of residents, thus contributing to the creation, and the reinforcement, of the notion of citizenship in areas where these rights are not respected. The article analyses the ways in which these images, which may be generated by the Church as part of its pastoral mission or by the associations, are constructed, distributed and perceived. The emergence of a citizens’ movement within these associative structures and the creation of a urban identity at the neighbourhood level bear witness to the efficacy of image use. This analysis also takes into account the way residents are perceived by the outsider, as developed and manipulated by the local press.