Brazil: Vila Esperança Resists Several Eviction Attempts
As A Nova Democracia reports, more than 800 families of the Vilha Esperança Occupation, in Grande Terra Vermelha region, Vilha Velha, is resisting an eviction attempt by the repressive forces. Since August 31, 200 people encamped the area in front of the government headquarters to defend the homes they have lived in for 8 years. They have built houses, a communitarian farm and a school in this area.
The area was recognized as a social interest area in the last term, but now they are trying to evict the families in favor of the land-grabber Eduardo Balestrassi, selling the area to build luxury apartments.
On February 27, a combative demonstration in front of the Court of Justice was organized, which stopped the reintegration of land. The combativeness continued, aiming to stop the reintegration definitively. The struggle was criminalized, and political persecution and intimidation of the masses by the police took place, without judicial order.
The demonstration in the police station of Vilha Verlha was cowardly repressed, attacking the residents with pepper spray and the student João Otávio was clearly detained for political reasons, with the Court demanding 30.000 reais in bail.
It was ruled to deploy police troops to guarantee the eviction, expelling families and destroying their houses. A “true war apparatus” was deployed, as AND states. The compensation for the destroyed houses given to these families was shameful: room for barely 100 families and an aid of 2.222 reais for the 800 families.
Thanks to the people’s struggle, the first eviction order was suspended for not guaranteeing an alternative housing. Even tough the new proposed compensations were not an improvement, the new eviction orders were implemented. Therefore the families encamped the area in front of the government headquarters, demanding that the families stay in Vila Esperança, but there was no satisfactory answer.
On September 3 a demonstration took place in Rio de Janeiro against the eviction order by the current government, Cláudio Castro, defending the right of housing. Despite the threats, the people continue their struggle against the evictions.
