by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASÍLIA, Brazil – This past Sunday, January 22, at 6 am, residents of the Pinheirinho slum were awakened by the police and forcibly evicted from their homes.  The police used rubber bullets, tear gas and were in full riot gear.  They were backed up by armored vehicles and two helicopters. 

Following the physical actions by the police, the government cut electricity, gas and telephone lines for the area.  The area was also blocked off and residents were unable to return.  The slum, which is located about 60 miles east of São Paulo, had roughly 5,500 residents.

Small battles between police and residents also occurred.  Residents threw rocks and sticks at the troops, set up make-shift barricades and set cars on fire.  About 30 arrests were made, multiple minor injuries were reported and at least one serious injury resulted from a rubber bullet shot.

The Pinheirinho slum was established in 2004, when people began to occupy the land that a bankrupt company had owned.  Residents of the settlement built homes, churches, schools and stores on the land over the past eight years. 

Recently, legal negotiations were underway to ensure that this type of eviction did not occur.  There was a proposal that the land be purchased by the federal government and kept as a low-income housing area so as to legalize the established settlement. 

Amnesty International states that the police action violates a previous agreement that no evictions would occur while a peaceful solution was sought.  Brazilian officials claim that the action was legal as the slum was established by illegal squatters who have no land rights.

The residents of Pinheirinho have been forced into a variety of emergency housing situations.  Some are staying with family and friends.  Another 350 families have been forced to take shelter in a school gymnasium with inadequate sanitation. 

Since Sunday, a few residents have been permitted back onto the land to gather small belongings.  The police have also been cataloguing and removing furniture to return it to its rightful owners. 

Disputes over the legality of this action have emerged.  Amnesty International and other land movement groups in Brazil like Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) protest the eviction and its effects, noting that now thousands of families are homeless. 

“What is happening in Pinheirinho is part of an unfortunate pattern of forced evictions in Brazil. As the country booms, tens of thousands of poor families are being removed to make way for infrastructure and private development projects, without receiving adequate protection and alternative housing. The Brazilian authorities… must actively engage with the residents to find a long-term solution that suits their needs — not temporary spaces in shelters which split up families,” said Atila Roque, director of Amnesty International, Brazil.

Brazilian authorities claim that they are going to move all residents to a tract of land, roughly 0.4 square miles large, to “re-integrate” them into society.  They also claim to be in the process of allocating them new homes and helping with food and transportation needs.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Criticism Grows of Brazil Slum Clearance by Police – 25 Jan 2012

International Business Times – Brazil: Activists Condemn Forced Eviction of São Paulo Squatters – 25 Jan 2012

Aljazeera – Clashes in Brazil Eviction Raid – 24 Jan 2012

Amnesty International – Brazil Must Address Needs of Thousands Left Homeless Following Eviction – 24 Jan 2012

Rio Times – Police Retake Favela in SP State – 23 Jan 2012