It's a peaceful winter's day in the favela of Monte Azul, Sao Paulo. Customers sit chatting around the hot-dog stand (which accepts credit cards). A state “health agent” patrols the undulating main street, looking for sick people to advise. At the creche, the purple curtains are closed to let the children nap. And the rain runs neatly into the gutters, instead of flooding the street. A lot has changed since 20 years ago, when some local men worked as “security guards” for bakeries and supermarkets - which meant they were paid to murder suspected thieves.

In the wake of Brazil's biggest protests since 1992, Monte Azul shows how much the country has improved. What has happened in this neighbourhood is what billions of poor people worldwide crave: the state has come to the favela. Services that underpin a dignified life, from running water to schools, are reaching Monte Azul. (I even spotted a state hearse driving around.) Bringing these services here wasn't easy. Many neighbourhoods in Brazil still lack them. The question is: what does it take to bring the state to the poor?

Economic growth helps. About 40 million Brazilians have escaped poverty this past decade. But as we've seen elsewhere, growth doesn't inevitably trickle down to poor neighbourhoods. The Brazilian lesson is that they must agitate for it.