Among the measures that come into force this Saturday are the increase in the number of security forces in megablocks
Carnival in São Paulo has the challenge of avoiding new episodes of turmoil involving megablockslike those seen last weekend. Overcrowding in Ibirapuera Park and Rua da Consolação led to singer Ivete Sangalo interrupting her performance in the south zone, while in the center the public was pressed against containment bars, revelers felt ill and had to climb onto eaves and chemical toilets to escape the crush.
After criticism, the City Hall of the capital and the State Public Security Secretariat announced measures with the promise of improvement in the organization. In a statement, the municipal management argued that the pre-carnival “was a success”, with no serious incidents recorded. He also stated that the city’s carnival “grows every year and the administration systematically reorganizes all the spaces that can be occupied by revelers, as the number of people enjoying the party is increasing.”
More security and access control
Among the measures that come into force this Saturday are the increase in the number of security forces in megablocks.
In a statement, the Public Security Secretariat stated that it sought to “align new measures to improve the flow of people during the carnival period”. “Preventive and overt policing actions will continue to be reinforced. According to the PM, there will be 5,200 police officers on the streets daily, in addition to real-time monitoring activities”, he declared.
There will also be stricter public access control at mega events, restricting the entry of revelers after the maximum capacity of the circuit is reached. The idea is to carry out a scheme similar to what was done in Ibirapuera for other megablock routes. Movable metal fences will only be used to limit the entry of new people, without preventing exit.
“All megablock circuits, including Ibirapuera, will have access control with searches carried out by private security guards, with support from the GCM and the Military Police, in addition to monitoring by 482 Smart Sampa cameras and 23 drones,” stated the City Hall.
Agents in trios to avoid stops
The authorities’ assessment was that the disturbance on pre-carnival Sunday, 8th, on Rua da Consolação was caused by the excessive stops in the Skol block, whose main attraction was DJ Calvin Harris. “We had a problem because, at the trio’s stop, people want to stay around it. There was space for people along the entire length, but, when the trio stops for a long time, people want to be right next to it and this ends up creating a problem”, said Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) on Monday.
To avoid further interruptions to routes, a City Hall representative will be inside the trios of each megablock coordinating the progress of the cars.
The City Hall also determined that health centers should be located within the circuit of all mega events in the city.
Megablocks in Ibirapuera
The City Hall changed the scheme for megablocks in Ibirapuera: the route on Avenida Pedro Álvares Cabral will have two more exit routes, one through the parking lot of the Legislative Assembly building and the other through Rua Abílio Soares. It was right next to Alesp where there was more pushing and shoving in the procession with Ivete Sangalo on pre-carnival Saturday, the 7th.
The health posts were also repositioned within the circuit itself.
Ibirapuera arrives at this year’s carnival as the largest megablock circuit in the city, with up to three parades per day. This carnival’s list features parades from major São Paulo groups, such as Vou de Táxi, and popular national artists, such as Michel Teló, Lauana Prado, Gustavo Mioto, Gloria Groove and Pabllo Vittar.
As Estadão showed, a study by the Foundation for the Technological Development of Engineering (FDTE) commissioned by City Hall in 2021 even estimated the capacity of the Avenida Pedro Álvares Cabral circuit. The material pointed to the potential of receiving 290,000 people, including a “renewal” of part of the public throughout the parade.
The estimate considered, however, that only the area closest to the electric trio would have very high density, while the rest of the space would have medium and low crowding. A different situation has been recorded in parades in recent years of the festivities, with a larger and tighter audience even when far from the block.
Consolação, Roosevelt Square and Higienópolis-Mackenzie Station
The municipal management decided remove hoardings that were installed around Franklin Roosevelt Squarein the center of the capital, contrary to the isolation that had been adopted in recent years
There will also be a adjustment to the ambulance route in Consolação. “We are going to make some adjustments. We will make a connection from the part where the cemetery is to the back street [Mato Grosso] which will be used as a passage for ambulances”, said Nunes.
On the 22nd, post-carnival Sunday, the megablock Pipoca da Rainha is planned, with singer Daniela Mercury. Unlike last Sunday’s case, there is no forecast for a second parade on the same day in Consolação.
Initially, the Higienópolis-Mackenzie Station, with exits in the middle of Consolação, will remain open and operating for boarding and disembarking throughout the carnival. But the ViaQuatro concessionaire informed that flow control measures may be adopted, including the temporary closure of access points, if the concentration of public exceeds the safety limits of the platforms.
“ViaQuatro reinforces that decisions like these are taken preventively and based on real-time monitoring, with the support of security agents and audible warnings on trains,” he stated in a statement.
Siding
The plan is also place fences to protect public buildings and prevent depredations or invasions by the publicas occurred in Consolação on Sunday, 8. Protections will be used in areas considered most vulnerable.
On Sunday, amid the overcrowding of the block with DJ Calvin Harris, revelers clung to the gates of buildings on Rua da Consolação; others tore down fences at the Escola Paulista de Magistratura to occupy part of the property’s open area. Revelers also jumped over the bars of a public school and ended up expelled from the place by military police.
Streets will be closed early
CET also intends to anticipate the blocking of streets that will have megablocks. The idea is to close the streets earlier to enable better organization of events, as well as better public control.
Neighborhood associations protest
Neighborhood associations in the center of São Paulo are mobilizing to remove the parade of carnival megablocks in the region. They claim that the streets cannot accommodate crowds and, in addition to the threat to people’s integrity, there is a risk to historical heritage. For now, the entities are in contact to decide what to do, but it is not ruled out going to court to prevent new risks.
Célia Marcondes, vice-president of the Society of Friends, Residents and Entrepreneurs of the Cerqueira César Neighborhood (Samorcc), which covers Consolação, says that the measures announced by the city hall after the riots that occurred on Sunday, 8th, do not resolve the essential issue.
“Consolação cannot accommodate the immense crowd that these blocks cause. The spaces they are using in the center are not for that. If you want to attract a crowd, then do it at the Sambadrome or the Interlagos race track”, he said.
Célia says that Samorcc supports carnival of smaller blocks, which are already traditional. In addition to the Cerqueira César neighborhood, the association operates in neighboring neighborhoods, such as Consolação, Bela Vista and Jardim Paulista.
For Charles Sousa, president of the General Association of the Center (AGC), the City hall should direct larger blocks to avenues that accommodate large audiences such as Avenida do Estado, in the section close to Marginal Tietê. AGC operates mainly in the neighborhoods of the historic center, such as Sé, República, Bela Vista, Bom Retiro, Cambuci, Consolação, Liberdade and Santa Cecília.
Residents around Ibirapuera, in the south zone of São Paulo, also ask for changes to the street carnival to put an end to the presentation of megablocks in places that, according to them, do not accommodate so many people. According to Nelson Cury, from the Association of Friends and Residents of Jardim Lusitânia, the surrounding entities are mobilizing to ask the City Hall to put an end to the megablocks in the Ibirapuera region. The neighborhood is neighboring the park.
After the festivities, damage was left: trampled flowerbeds, destroyed squares, grass turned into clay. “Imagine what it will look like after two more weekends. City Hall says it can fix it, but it’s public money. In addition to these inconveniences, the risk of accidents is huge. It’s not far away for a person to die. They wait for a tragedy to do something.”
Rosanne Brancatelli, founder and activist of the Pro-Pinheiros Movement, says that, since 2024, the entity has been asking City Hall for a Carnival in which there are no large blocks in the region
“Several associations in lower Pinheiros and around Rua dos Pinheiros have been calling for these changes, as traders are harmed, while only the sponsor benefits. The streets are narrow and homes are invaded by revelers who leave urine, feces, bottles and beer cans, which then fill the drains and will further pollute the Pinheiros River.”
*Estadão Content
