Brazil: Long live the 8 years of resistance of Ocupação Vila Esperança!

We hereby share an unofficial translation of an article published by A Nova Democracia.

Ocupação Vila Esperança celebrates 8 years of resistance, which since its foundation in 2016, maintained and defended independently. The occupation is a symbol of a combative struggle against the growing criminalization of those who demand the right to land in the state of Espírito Santo.

The occupation resists, firmly contrary to the logic of opportunism, which attempts to subordinate the interests of the community to its own political and personal goals. The residents have in the occupation a space for struggle and solidarity, where they organize community meals for children, tutoring classes, mutual aid efforts to build houses, vegetable gardens and various other improvements.

In mutual aid efforts, newly arrived families are supported so that their homes can be built as soon as possible, allowing them to immediately enter the occupation, freeing them from the burden of rent or homelessness. These joint efforts strengthen ties between people, raise awareness about the right to housing and increase the number of people willing to struggle. In the occupation, the people understand that they must trust only in their own people and those who arrive to truly help.

The joint efforts are fundamental to the day by day activities of the occupation, working on everything, from access to water and power to the construction of streets and the political organization of the community. Furthermore, residents denounce and expose miserable who use the social movement for self-promotion, such as councilor candidate Minervino (PT, former-PL), who promised support for the occupation only in exchange for votes. They denounce that his candidacy is marked by opportunism, aligned with figures who do nothing for the people and who only try to use them to strengthen their ego.

These traitors always forget what Vila Esperança is: a pillar of resistance against the far right in Vila Velha, a seed for new combative movements that are committed to the occupation. The struggle remains firm, and the residents say: “Even if things get worse, this land is ours!”.