Residents protested on Friday morning (23) against the demolition of properties, which has been ongoing since the beginning of the week, in Parque União, one of the communities that make up the Maré Complex, in the northern part of the capital. Protesters closed Avenida Brigadeiro Trompowski, which connects Avenida Brasil to Ilha do Governador.
The operation is being conducted by agents from the Municipal Department of Public Order, with the support of the Military Police and the Civil Police. “They invade homes without a court order,” says Caitano Silva, a member of the Parque União Residents’ Association.
According to the municipality, these are properties built irregularly. The Civil Police suspect that they are properties built in a money laundering scheme by criminal organizations that control drug trafficking in the region.
“Investigations indicate that the Parque União community has been used for years, through the construction and opening of businesses, to launder capital accumulated through drug trafficking. Agents are also investigating the participation of employees of community representative bodies in the scheme,” the Civil Police said in a statement.
Abuse of power
The Parque União Residents’ Association denounces abuse of power and the removal of belongings. “The residents who are here are not drug dealers,” said Caitano Silva. According to him, the operation affected the functioning of schools, health centers and commercial establishments, left streets empty and generated a psychological impact on the population.
“In many cases, residents’ belongings, money, cell phones, perfumes, and things they find are stolen if the resident is not inside their home. Many times, agents break into the resident’s home, mess up the inside of it, and then leave,” he added.
In a statement, the Municipal Department of Public Order said that seizures were made in a luxury apartment in one of the buildings being demolished and no one identified themselves as the owner of the equipment. All items were taken to the municipal warehouse and may be collected by the owner, upon presentation of identification and proof of purchase.
On Wednesday (21), a 17-year-old boy said he was taken to the police station, along with his mother, after documenting the operation on video. Images from inside the apartment were shared on social media. “They want to demolish the building with us inside. They’re already breaking everything up here. Where are we going with three children?” said the young man, next to his sister, who was carrying a newborn baby in her arms.
In another scene, the young man asks a police officer: “Would you like to see this happen to your family? Tomorrow, they’ll all be on the couch at home watching TV.”
In a video published the following day, the young man’s mother gave her version of what happened. “The police said they couldn’t release the images, so they wouldn’t be killed because of the video of my son. They wanted to silence my son’s voice. My son is not a criminal. He is 17 years old and a student,” says the mother.
Wanted by Brazil Agencythe Civil Police said they needed more information, in addition to that reported in the video, to determine what happened.
Fundamental rights
The civil society organization Redes da Maré published on Wednesday (21), on its website, an analysis based on investigations it carried out on site. “Residents stated that, despite there having been a warning about the possible demolition, no other type of support or guidance was offered regarding their rights or steps to be taken in this situation,” the text says.
According to the organization, this is not an issue exclusively related to public and criminal security.
“What we are witnessing involves broader violations of the fundamental rights of residents. The issue of evictions is historic and is deeply linked to the problem of access to decent housing in favelas and urban peripheries. The lack of adequate public policies and state negligence with spaces and equipment result in improvised strategies to occupy urban space without proper regulation and supervision.”
Rede da Maré calls on public authorities to meet housing demands.
“By abdicating its responsibility for managing public spaces and regulating urban and housing rights, the State contributes to the perpetuation of these practices. The State must take responsibility for its historical negligence in favela spaces, instead of simply criminalizing and directly harming an entire population and, furthermore, exposing them in a spectacularized way on social media. We, at Redes da Maré, understand that violence cannot be a path to the realization of human rights.”
