Police in Sao Paulo have occupied the Paraisopolis favela, the second largest squatter community in the city, the BBC reports. In typical fashion, what gains the headlines is the riot. The cause is in the 3rd paragraph: police shot and killed a local man they were trying to arrest. Sounds like there was no riot in the community until the police instigated one.
At the same time as the violence in Sao Paulo, Brazilian President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva was in a favela in Rio, announcing a plan to stimulate the economy by building 500,000 apartments for poor people. The International Herald Tribune offers extremely bare bones details.
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5 comments:
What are the chances those apt.'s for the poor will actually be built?
I just saw this on the Folha yesterday, it sounds horrific. A full-scale invasion and occupation of the favela.
Also, I have responses to your questions about the municipal elections up on my blog now. Check it out!
riceball: I have no reason to think Lula will not spend the money on housing. That being said, one in five residents of Brazil's cities is a squatter. So 500,000 units is a tiny amount.
laura: thanks. Will check your blog.
Hello,
I am a Belgian journalism student and I would like to contact you to ask some questions. I can't find your e-mailaddress, so I will leave a comment. I hope you are willing contact me. The subject is about squatters. It's for a schoolproject. My e-mail is majellalensen@hotmail.com
Thank you
Majella
Hey Robert, I did some digging and found that the Paraisópolis occupation is only one of 12 that have occurred around São Paulo since 2005, showing that this is an accepted government policy towards favelas and not just an emergency response to an extreme circumstance.
Check it out: http://democraciaurbana.blogspot.com/2009/02/saturation-operation-in-paraisopolis.html
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