MAB supports the evicted residents of the occupation of Pinheirinho

About 4,000 people attended an activity in support of families of the occupation of Pinheirinho in Sao Jose dos Campos (SP), Thursday 2nd of February. The residents were evicted from the area where they lived since 2004, by the military police suffering a lot of violence.

The Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) was present at the demonstration, showing their solidarity with the struggle of the residents of Pinheirinho for housing and denouncing human rights violations perpetrated by the government of São Paulo. Also participated the Movement of Landless Workers (MST), the Homeless Workers Movement (MTST), and entities of student movements, labor unions and political parties.

The protest began around 11:30. The protesters held a march from the square Afonso Pena until the city hall of  São José dos Campos, passing the city council and center.

“This event today, which brought together various unions, social movements and political parties who came to protest in favor of Pinheirinho, is not just an issue of housing, but also of higher wages, education and health for all working people,” said Nanci Galvão, coordinator of the Forum’s Resistance Pinheirinho. The protesters charged that president Rousseff expropriate the area of Pinheirinho in favour of popular housing.

After the political act, the participants made a visit to Pinheirinho, watching the ruins of what once was a neighborhood that housed 2,000 families. 

At the end of the day, MST members donated food from their settlements to the gym where the remaining families of the occupation are housed in poor conditions. Some families received a ticket to return to their homelands.

Historical

In an operation of war, more than 2,000 police men, backed by two helicopters and dozens of cars, violently expelled the families living in the occupation Pinheirinho. The military police has fulfilled the order of repossession signed by the State Courts and the Municipality of São José dos Campos.

During the action of the MP, a judge of the Federal Court (TRF) decided to suspend the withdrawal of the families, but the Court of São Paulo (TJ-SP) remained the order of repossession. Moreover, the action was taken without considering the negotiations for settlement of the area that had already been initiated between the federal, state and municipal levels.

The land belongs to the bankrupt company Selecta, from the group of Naji Nahas, who started the process for the withdrawal of the families from the start of the occupation on 27th of February 2004, after the violent expulsion of the homeless from the neighborhood Campo dos Alemães.

* Based on the newspaper Brasil de Fato