Brazilian authorities in Rio de Janeiro have been demolishing 300 homes of local residents as part of an operation to root out drug traffickers who have laundered money through the construction of real-estate projects. The residents of Complexo Maré have become the collateral victims of this war between the police and law enforcement agencies, without applying the required humanitarian principles of necessity, proportionality or distinction—HLRN.
SEOP continues demolitions in Maré while residents protest
Public Order Department stated that the operation will continue in the coming days without giving an estimated end date
Fires at 5 am this Wednesday already indicated what residents of the Maré Favela Complex feared: another day of operation, the third in a row. The Public Order Department (SEOP) confirmed that it will continue carrying out demolition operations in Maré this Wednesday (21) with the support of the Civil and Military Police. Contrary to what the department reports, residents say that there was no prior warning or assistance, only papers stuck to the walls about the demolition of the houses.
In addition, in a note, the agency stated that “the demolition of the irregular buildings will continue in the coming days”, without giving an estimated end date.
The Maré de Notícias team was in Nova Holanda and Parque União, locations where the demolitions have been taking place since last Monday (19). “They are psychologically terrorizing us,” declared one of the residents who preferred to remain anonymous.
Despite the fear and concern about the coming days, many residents remain in their homes in an attempt to avoid the demolitions. While SEOP says that 90% of the homes are unoccupied, residents say the opposite: most of the homes are occupied.
Videos circulating on social media show SEOP employees taking appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators from inside the homes. We also asked whether the seizure procedure is part of the standard protocol for the operation, in addition to asking whether the items will be duly recorded in the final balance sheet and how the agency ensures the transparency and integrity of the records.
In a statement, SEOP responded that “no one identified themselves as the owner of the equipment. All items were taken to the municipal warehouse and may be collected by the owner, upon identification and proof of purchase.”
At the location where the refrigerator was removed, for example, residents informed the Maré de Notícias team that the owner was not at home because she was working. One of the questions that remains is: do you, the reader, have all the receipts for everything you own in your home today, in case you need to prove your purchases to the State? If you don`t, and you are a favela resident, your home appliance could be taken away, without being able to get it back.
Attempted protest
‘My children will grow up with love in their hearts, seeing their mother being shot with rubber bullets and slapped in the face? Without me being involved in drug trafficking. It`s absurd!’, says a resident during a protest.
Residents tried to organize a peaceful protest on Avenida Brasil for the right to housing and also against the interruption of classes due to the operations. However, the demonstration was interrupted by police using stun grenades.
“The State, it is genocidal, you understand? Everyone who enters the favela is useless to it. We can`t build a house because it`s the drug trafficking money. We can`t have a store because it was the drug trafficking, you understand? But the real ones who steal from us are them, because they do not carry out operations to suppress drug trafficking, but rather to enter our homes and steal our things,” asks a resident who, despite identifying herself, we prefer to withhold her name for security reasons. According to her, the police took R$750.00 from her home, money that would be used to pay the rent.
Maré de Direitos, a project from the Right to Public Security and Access to Justice axis of Redes da Maré, handles situations of rights violations on WhatsApp (21) 99924-6462 and also on the organization’s equipment.
Translated from Portuguese
See also: Police operation in Rio favela: Protesters rally after schools forced to shut (Aljazeera)
Photo: Residents of Maré protesting the demolition of their homes by the SEOP. Source: Image from Aljazeera video report.
| Themes |
| • Demographic manipulation • Destruction of habitat • Displacement • Housing rights • Local • Low income • Public policies • Security of tenure • Urban planning |
