Government of SP is prevented from demolishing properties in Favela do Moinho

The government is prevented from demolishing properties in Favela do Moinho until this Friday (24). The place is the last slum area in the center of the capital. The measure was determined by the Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region (TRF3) on October 18 in response to a request from the Public Defender’s Office of São Paulo and the Public Defender’s Office of the Union, after a hearing between the two bodies and representatives of the federal, state and municipal administrations.

The court forced the management to remove debris that still remained within the community until the same date and to continue this service also afterwards, with the accumulation resulting from the other demolished structures.

At the hearing, as recorded in the TRF3 document, the Housing and Urban Development Company of the State of São Paulo (CDHU) says that it registered 931 families/dwellings in the period from October 14th to November 2nd, 2024 and that none of them will be prevented from receiving a new home, under the pretext of being considered ineligible.

CDHU also reported that so far 632 families have already chosen their homes and left the community. At the time, the company highlighted that the Public Defender’s Office of São Paulo made a list of 137 families/dwellings with pending issues, of which 107 were located in the registry and 30 were not included in it.

In total, CDHU added, 122 houses were demolished. Regarding having left debris to accumulate inside the community, the company stated that there were restrictions on the entry of machines that would be used in the task and that the teams had to carry out the task more slowly, due to factors such as the movement of children around the machines.

“Demolitions are carried out observing all technical criteria to prevent damage to properties that are still occupied. However, progress is fundamental, since the precarious structures expose people who still circulate around the mill to risks, especially after the houses are vacated”, the CDHU note also informs.

The community alleges that the company did not honor the three terms agreed with the residents, only fulfilling the free property, something achieved with the federal government’s entry into the negotiation. As reported by the Brazil Agencymost residents have not yet moved into new properties. Furthermore, the commitment to have addresses in the central area, close to the community where they lived, was also broken.

Another aspect established by federal judge Noemi Martins de Oliveira was the presence of Military Police teams day and night in the favela, “not overtly, but preventively”, to inhibit new occupations.

In a message sent to Brazil Agencythe Public Security Secretariat stated that it already maintains a staff in the favela, responsible for carrying out preventive patrolling. “The objective is to guarantee the safety of residents, maintaining public order, which includes preventing further invasions of unoccupied areas in the favela. The PM will also continue to provide support to CDHU’s work to protect the safety of employees who work there.”

In September, eight people, including community leaders, were arrested as part of Operation Sharpe, accused of having links to the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC). In a popular hearing, last Saturday (18), leaders again denounced illegal tactics that had been used by the police to terrorize community members, such as planting illicit drugs to unfairly incriminate and torture.

Understand

In mid-May, the federal government announced an agreement signed with the state government, enabling the inhabitants of Favela do Moinho to purchase properties worth up to R$250,000. At this point, when the removal of residents had already completed three weeks, the intervention took place.

Governor Tarcísio de Freitas’ intention was to make way for a park and the Bom Retiro station, of the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM). The properties that would be included in the action coordinated by him would cost up to R$250 thousand, in the case of those located in the central zone, and R$200 thousand, for other locations.

With the review of the proposal and the federal government’s entry into the negotiation, the maximum amount will be R$250,000, with the federal government contributing R$180,000 and the state government contributing R$70,000, both non-refundable, that is, money taken from their budgets. This allowed residents to purchase properties for free, without financing.

*With information from Agência Brasil
Published by Nícolas Robert