People affected by landslides in San Sebastião are protesting for housing

Clayton Castellani

Sao Paulo-SP

Residents of the neighborhoods affected by floods and landslides in San Sebastião organized a protest this Saturday morning (11), demanding an answer from the public authority regarding the construction of new houses for the population living in the risk zones of the municipality.

There is widespread dissatisfaction among residents due to a lack of clarity about the use of resources announced by the municipality, state and union during the crisis, according to local community leaders. Fees are also charged for money collected by NGOs, which must be verified and earmarked for the homeless assistance program.

Originally planned by scattered groups of residents, the demonstration began to be coordinated this Thursday (9) by an organization called the Union of People Affected by the Tragedy of Crime, which is made up of left-wing movements.

Among the organizers are the Coletivo Caichara from San Sebastião, Ilhabela and Caraguatatuba;

The Association of Favelas of São José dos Campos, the Zero Eviction Campaign, the Federation of Community Associations of the State of São Paulo, the Forum for the Defense of Life and the MTST (Movement of Homeless Workers), according to Camilo Terra, one of the coordinators. Collective caiçara.

About 350 families were displaced after historic rains hit San Sebastião in the early hours of February 19, according to the group. The movement leading the protests, however, estimates that the total number of victims exceeds 1,000 families, as many have returned to their homes.

“The accusations that we present to the state bodies of all spheres, especially the state, for the cash register [Companhia de Desenvolvimento Habitacional e Urbano]and municipalities, various public policies and restructuring [de moradias e da infraestrutura urbana]said Earth.

Organizers expect to start the demonstration at Villa Sahi, which is close to the Verdescola Institute, the facility that initially sheltered the victims of the tragedy.
The demonstrators will pass along the Rio-Santos highway. There was a plan to stop traffic on the site, but the idea was abandoned. Now the organizers intend to walk to Praia da Baleia, where high-income vacationers own property.

“We’re under no illusions that we’re going to have help from capital, but the Baleia trip is symbolic in the sense that they never wanted the working class around them, and that’s one of the reasons for the tragedy of crime, but on Saturday they will; to see us, to see the photographs of the buried, to see our mourning and sadness,” said Terra.

Among the supporters of the demonstration, however, there are residents who say that they are not connected to political organizations and social movements.

Among these community leaders is electrician Moises Teixeira Bispo, 37, who claims to have received reports of “millions” promised to affected families. “I can say about the community that we are in the dark,” he complains. “Governor [Tarcísio de Freitas, do Republicanos] and the mayor [Felipe Augusto, do PSDB] they come here, they talk in Verdescola, and we don’t know anything,” he complained.

Bispo demands accountability from organizations that have raised money and used such resources in support of the housing program and rehabilitation of affected areas.

The Association for Victims of Crime says that accountability for donations is not the main demand of the movement, but it “intends to ask the supervisory authorities to somehow try to verify the donations received and whether they are really being used. to help the victims.”

The municipality of San Sebastião, the state government, the CDHU, and the federal government did not appear before the publication of this text.

The organizations Gerando Falcões and Instituto Verdescola, which are among the main NGOs that have raised funds and support the homeless, have informed that they will report to the supervisory authorities.