Masses Protest Against the Lack of Infrastructure in Brazil
Featured image: Residents of Satuba, Alagoas, protesting.
Hundreds of residents from popular neighborhoods in Brazil have protested in recent weeks against the lack of basic infrastructure, particularly the shortage of water, according to A Nova Democracia (AND).
Residents of the Rio Novo neighborhood in Satuba blocked the BR-316 highway with sofas, tires, and pieces of wood, setting them on fire, on August 28. The residents are protesting against the lack of water, as the water trucks do not meet the needs of all the residents in the popular neighborhood. During the demonstration, they shouted against the private supplier company, BRK Ambiental, as well as against the authorities. Additionally, the residents claim that there is not only a problem with water shortages, but also that the little water available is of very poor quality.
AND reports that the situation in the Rio Novo neighborhood is not an isolated incident, as residents of the Vergel de Lago neighborhood also protested over the same issue back in June. On that occasion, the government sent in BOPE troops to suppress the residents.
Residents of the Jorge Teixeira neighborhood in the eastern part of Manaus also protested against the lack of water on August 26. They erected a burning barricade, demanding improvements in their basic services. The neighborhood has a population of 128,000 inhabitants who are often ignored by the authorities when they demand improvements in their infrastructure. The electrical network and water supply are very precarious, and there are numerous unpaved areas. In response to such protests, local institutions wash their hands of the matter, claiming that “such interventions are not within their competence.”
While the old Brazilian State and the supplying companies do not provide water to meet the basic needs of the people, latifundium receive all the water it requires. AND reports that in Petrolina, Sertão Pernambucano, “hundreds of peasants marched in a massive protest that even occupied the Presidente Dutra Bridge, as part of a campaign against the policy of the Companhia de Desenvolvimento do Vale do São Francisco e Parnaíba (Codevasf) to divert the waters of the São Francisco River to thelatifundium, depriving the population of access to their fundamental rights. In the municipality of Floresta, residents even opened the gate of a dam, allowing access to water for dozens of peasant families.”
The source of all the pictures used is A Nova Democracia.
