Brazilian police clash with slum residents for second day
Eviction at Pinheirinho shanty town near São Paulo erupts in violence again as community claims people have died
Violent clashes between police and slum residents in Brazil have entered a second day, after around 2,000 officers stormed a community near the country's economic capital, São Paulo, to evict around 6,000 residents.The operation to clear the Pinheirinho shanty town in São José dos Campos, a city around 50 miles from São Paulo, began at around 6am on Sunday morning. Without warning, black-clad troops swept into the area carrying metal shields and pump-action shotguns. Skirmishes broke out and vehicles were set alight.Television pictures showed terrified mothers fleeing the slum clutching their babies. Police helicopters circled above burning cars and homes as troops were pelted with rocks and responded with rubber bullets and tear gas.Throughout the day, riot police and angry locals fought pitched battles, and protesters temporarily blocked part of the Via Dutra, the motorway that links São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. "They didn't even let us breathe," one weeping woman told Globo TV as she fled the area carrying a young girl. "They have thrown our whole lives away.""I was scared," José Silva Santos, a cook who lived in the community, told the news website G1. "The guys [police] arrived ordering us out and there was only enough time to get my ID and my work uniform."Throughout Sunday, social media sites filled with apocalyptic reports of a supposed "massacre", taking place within the community. One email, sent to international media, claimed there were reports that people had been killed. Brazil's biggest TV network, Globo, described the eviction as "an operation of war".In an interview with local radio, Colonel Manoel Messias Mello, the head of the region's military police, denied there had been any loss of life."The operation was designed to protect lives, to guarantee people's physical integrity," he said, blaming the violence on "vandals" and claiming his forces had seized one shotgun, one handgun and drugs.Mello said police were investigating reports that one man had been shot in the back during a "confrontation" with local security officers. Several people were reported to have been injured during the clashes, including the community's lawyer and a one police officer, but no deaths were confirmed.Located on the impoverished outskirts of São José dos Campos, a city of around 850,000 inhabitants, Pinheirinho sprung up in February 2004, when groups of homeless workers occupied abandoned land belonging to a bankrupt investment firm.Despite an ongoing legal battle over the land's ownership and grinding poverty, the community reportedly flourished with locals building churches, football pitches, libraries and shops.On Monday morning, there were reports that clashes between police and locals had erupted again at around 9am. Fifteen people were reportedly arrested overnight.Evictions are a common occurrence in Brazil, a country with a huge housing deficit and where the number of slum dwellers continues to rise despite an ongoing economic boom. Figures released late last year by the government showed that 11.5 million Brazilians live in shanty towns or sub-standard and often illegal housing, compared with 4.5 million in 1991.But the scale of the police operation – and the violence it triggered – pushed the plight of Pinheirinho's residents on to the front pages. Human rights activists across Brazil have announced protests against the eviction.Speaking on Monday morning, São Paulo's state governor, the former presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin, reportedly ducked questions about the nature of the operation. "The police are merely executing a legal order," he told the Record TV network.Traduzindo:
Violent clashes between police and slum residents in Brazil have entered a second day, after around 2,000 officers stormed a community near the country's economic capital, São Paulo, to evict around 6,000 residents.
The operation to clear the Pinheirinho shanty town in São José dos Campos, a city around 50 miles from São Paulo, began at around 6am on Sunday morning. Without warning, black-clad troops swept into the area carrying metal shields and pump-action shotguns. Skirmishes broke out and vehicles were set alight.
Television pictures showed terrified mothers fleeing the slum clutching their babies. Police helicopters circled above burning cars and homes as troops were pelted with rocks and responded with rubber bullets and tear gas.
Throughout the day, riot police and angry locals fought pitched battles, and protesters temporarily blocked part of the Via Dutra, the motorway that links São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. "They didn't even let us breathe," one weeping woman told Globo TV as she fled the area carrying a young girl. "They have thrown our whole lives away."
"I was scared," José Silva Santos, a cook who lived in the community, told the news website G1. "The guys [police] arrived ordering us out and there was only enough time to get my ID and my work uniform."
Throughout Sunday, social media sites filled with apocalyptic reports of a supposed "massacre", taking place within the community. One email, sent to international media, claimed there were reports that people had been killed. Brazil's biggest TV network, Globo, described the eviction as "an operation of war".
In an interview with local radio, Colonel Manoel Messias Mello, the head of the region's military police, denied there had been any loss of life.
"The operation was designed to protect lives, to guarantee people's physical integrity," he said, blaming the violence on "vandals" and claiming his forces had seized one shotgun, one handgun and drugs.
Mello said police were investigating reports that one man had been shot in the back during a "confrontation" with local security officers. Several people were reported to have been injured during the clashes, including the community's lawyer and a one police officer, but no deaths were confirmed.
Located on the impoverished outskirts of São José dos Campos, a city of around 850,000 inhabitants, Pinheirinho sprung up in February 2004, when groups of homeless workers occupied abandoned land belonging to a bankrupt investment firm.
Despite an ongoing legal battle over the land's ownership and grinding poverty, the community reportedly flourished with locals building churches, football pitches, libraries and shops.
On Monday morning, there were reports that clashes between police and locals had erupted again at around 9am. Fifteen people were reportedly arrested overnight.
Evictions are a common occurrence in Brazil, a country with a huge housing deficit and where the number of slum dwellers continues to rise despite an ongoing economic boom. Figures released late last year by the government showed that 11.5 million Brazilians live in shanty towns or sub-standard and often illegal housing, compared with 4.5 million in 1991.
But the scale of the police operation – and the violence it triggered – pushed the plight of Pinheirinho's residents on to the front pages. Human rights activists across Brazil have announced protests against the eviction.
Speaking on Monday morning, São Paulo's state governor, the former presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin, reportedly ducked questions about the nature of the operation. "The police are merely executing a legal order," he told the Record TV network.
Polícia confrontam-se com moradores das favelas brasileiras para o segundo dia
Despejo na favela perto Pinheirinho São Paulo entra em erupção novamente na violência como pessoas morreram reivindicações da comunidadeConfrontos violentos entre a polícia e moradores da favela em Brasil ter entrado um segundo dia, depois de cerca de 2.000 policiais invadiram uma comunidade perto da capital econômica do país, São Paulo, para expulsar cerca de 6.000 moradores.
A operação para limpar a favela Pinheirinho em São José dos Campos, uma cidade cerca de 50 quilômetros de São Paulo, começou em torno de 6:00 da manhã de domingo. Sem aviso, vestido de preto tropas invadiram a área carregando escudos de metal e de ação da bomba espingardas. Escaramuças estourou e os veículos foram incendiados.
Imagens de televisão mostraram as mães aterrorizados fugindo da favela segurando seus bebês. Helicópteros da polícia circulavam acima queimando carros e casas enquanto tropas foram atingidos com pedras e respondeu com balas de borracha e gás lacrimogêneo.
Durante todo o dia, a polícia e moradores irritados lutaram batalhas campais, e os manifestantes bloquearam temporariamente parte da Via Dutra, a auto-estrada que liga São Paulo e Rio de Janeiro. "Eles nem sequer vamos respirar", disse uma mulher chorando TV Globo como ela fugiram da área carregando uma menina. "Eles têm jogado toda a nossa vida fora."
"Eu estava com medo", José Silva Santos, um cozinheiro que morava na comunidade, disse ao site de notícias G1 . "O pessoal [da polícia] chegaram mandando-nos para fora e só havia tempo suficiente para obter o meu ID e meu uniforme de trabalho."
Durante todo o domingo, sites de mídia social cheia de relatórios apocalípticos de um suposto "massacre", a ter lugar no seio da comunidade. Um e-mail, enviado a imprensa internacional, afirmou que havia relatos de que pessoas haviam sido mortas. Brasil é o maior da rede TV, Globo, descreveu o despejo como "uma operação de guerra".
Em entrevista à rádio local, o coronel Manoel Messias Mello, o chefe da polícia militar da região, negou ter havido qualquer perda de vida.
"A operação foi concebida para proteger as vidas, para garantir a integridade física das pessoas", disse ele, culpando a violência em "vândalos" e alegando que suas forças haviam apreendido uma espingarda, um revólver e drogas.
Mello disse que a polícia estava investigando relatos de que um homem havia sido baleado nas costas durante um "confronto" com agentes de segurança local. Várias pessoas foram relatados para ter sido ferido durante os confrontos, incluindo o advogado da comunidade e um policial um, mas nenhuma morte foi confirmada.
Localizado na periferia pobre de São José dos Campos, uma cidade de cerca de 850 mil habitantes, Pinheirinho surgiram em fevereiro de 2004, quando grupos de trabalhadores sem-teto ocuparam terras abandonadas pertencentes a uma empresa de investimento falida.
Apesar de uma batalha em curso legal sobre a propriedade da terra e pobreza opressiva, a comunidade teria florescido com os habitantes locais construção de igrejas, campos de futebol, bibliotecas e lojas.
Na manhã de segunda-feira, houve relatos de que confrontos entre a polícia e moradores irrompeu novamente em torno de 09:00. Quinze pessoas foram presas durante a noite.
Despejos são uma ocorrência comum no Brasil, um país com um déficit habitacional enorme e onde o número de moradores de favelas continua a crescer apesar de um crescimento económico em curso. Números divulgados no final do ano passado pelo governo mostrou que 11,5 milhões de brasileiros vivem em favelas ou habitações sub-padrão e muitas vezes ilegais, em comparação com 4,5 milhões em 1991.
Mas a escala da operação policial - ea violência é desencadeada - empurrou o sofrimento dos moradores do Pinheirinho é para as primeiras páginas. Ativistas de direitos humanos em todo o Brasil anunciaram protestos contra o despejo.
Falando na manhã de segunda-feira, o governador do estado de São Paulo, o ex-candidato presidencial Geraldo Alckmin, teria se esquivou perguntas sobre a natureza da operação. "A polícia está apenas executando uma ordem jurídica", disse ele à rede de TV Record.
Fonte: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/23/brazilian-police-clash-slum-residents?fb=optOut
Fonte: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/23/brazilian-police-clash-slum-residents?fb=optOut
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