Residents Removed from Pinheirinho Left With Few Options

Photo: Anderson Barbosa 

It isn't being reported outside of Brazil, so far as I can tell, that a neighborhood in the city of São José dos Campos, Brazil, is being demolished this week. The reason for the destruction is that this was a community of people without legal title to the land they were living on. Eight years ago they "invaded" the land, which reportedly belongs to a now-bankrupt company, and began building homes. There came to be small businesses and even churches in the neighborhood. It was the hope of many residents that they would eventually be granted title, but such has not been the case. The decision came from the jusicial system recently that the land was to be returned to its legal owner, and this was followed with police and other officials moving into the area with heavy machinery to remove the stuctures there.

Pinheirinho, as the neighborhood was called, existed due to a long-standing need in Brazil for adequate housing. I've heard objections to squatters rights in Brazil, based on accusations that many who live in these places have other properties, and/or simply live there long enough to gain title and then sell. This may be the case, but it doesn't explain the enormous numbers of people and the individual stories that can be told of people with no other home to call their own.

As the son of a long line of farmers, I'm sympathetic to those who suffer from squatters trespassing on their properties, and believe that these landowners must have their rights protected. I'm also not inclined to care much about a bankrupt business's claim on land, but understand the need for well-respected property rights. At the same time, something needs to be done about the housing situation in Brazil, and the vast holdings of idle land in private, corporate hands is a point of concern.

In the case of Pinheirinho, people were "registered" and moved out of the community in haste, most scrambling to salvage what furniture and other household items they could before the bulldozers destroyed what little they owned. What good this "registration" will do remains to be seen, as the government has made statements to the effect that those recently displaced will have to take a place in line behind those already awaiting affordable, subsidized housing. In other words, these folks were kicked out of their homes without another option being made available to them.

Due to media attention within Brazil, I suspect that politicians involved may act now to remedy this situation. In the meantime, people are struggling, camping out in local churches and other improvised shelters.

For those who understand Portuguese, the following report covers the situation of people displaced from Pinheirinho.

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