The federal government and the city council of Teresópolis, in the mountainous region of the state of Rio de Janeiro, signed this Thursday (5) an agreement that transfers land measuring approximately 2.8 million square meters (m2), which was registered in the name of the National Social Security Institute (INSS), for land regularization that will hold approximately 10,000 residential properties, where communities with more than 35,000 inhabitants live. 
The plot of land – known as Quinta do Lebrão – was one of the biggest urban land conflicts in Brazil, which had been going on since 2017.
Commitment
“If the Union is not going to do anything, then it’s up to someone else to do something. And our commitment is to try to deliver all the titles that we are able to deliver, because it makes no sense for the Union to keep the land empty or speculate”, stated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the event, at Palácio do Planalto, which marked the transfer of the Union’s area to the city hall.
“Now, yes, I can say that I own this land. Because, until then, everyone in the community had this fear of one day losing the land, a president who has no sense, no love for the land he lives on. [e tomar a terra]”, said Mestre Bibinho, community leader from Quinta do Lebrão, who participated in the ceremony at Palácio do Planalto.
The legal agreement that put an end to the dispute over ownership of the land was signed at the end of last year, within the scope of the Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region (TRF2), involving INSS, the Secretariat of Union Heritage (SPU) and the city of Teresópolis. And, this Thursday, the federal government completed the transfer of property to the municipality.
“This was the most emblematic region that we wanted to resolve. We are finalizing the legal discussion and starting the regularization process for families”, stated the Minister of Management and Innovation in Public Services, Esther Dweck.
According to her, in addition to transferring ownership of the land, the federal government is providing resources to the city hall to cover expenses related to registry offices and titling of houses in the name of families, based on a joint notice from the ministries of Cities and Management and Innovation in Public Services.
Title delivery
Although the city of Teresópolis has 36 months to complete the regularization, the federal government’s expectation is that the first titles will be delivered in three months, and the rest within up to a year.
“It’s priceless for someone to build their house and, from today on, it becomes an inheritance for their wife and grandchildren”, celebrated the mayor of Teresópolis, Leonardo Vasconcellos. The land transferred to the municipality has three communities. The largest of them is the Quinta do Lebrão neighborhood, with three thousand homes, followed by Fonte Santa (520 homes) and Álvaro Paná (480 homes).
“The federal public lands where people and families live, this government will not displace any of them. On the contrary, we are going to legalize it and give dignity and security to Brazilian families”, guaranteed the Minister of Cities, Jáder Filho. According to him, thousands of families live in residences in public areas of the Union and are waiting for this type of land regularization to obtain definitive possession.
“After so many years, land regularization has once again become a priority in Brazil. This act will be extended and extended throughout all states. In my city alone, in Belém, Pará, we have around 150 thousand families who live in this situation”, explained the minister.
