{"id":19413,"date":"2014-11-28T14:19:27","date_gmt":"2014-11-28T17:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=19413"},"modified":"2015-12-19T16:26:59","modified_gmt":"2015-12-19T19:26:59","slug":"solano-trindade-occupation-celebrates-successes-while-offering-strong-critique-of-federal-housing-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=19413","title":{"rendered":"Solano Trindade Occupation Celebrates Success While Offering Compelling Critique of Federal Housing Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas\"\"<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

On Friday November 20, members and supporters of the National Movement of\u00a0Housing Vindication (Movimento Nacional de Luta Pela Moradia<\/em>, or\u00a0MNLM<\/a>) came together to celebrate\u00a0the early successes of the Solano Trindade occupation in the municipality of Duque de Caxias<\/a> in the Baixada Fluminense<\/a>, as well as to discuss new strategies for the advancement of the occupation and betterment of living conditions for the families residing there.<\/p>\n

The event, described as a \u201csarau divergente<\/em>\u201d\u2013or divergent gathering–occurred on a date of symbolic importance, Brazil\u2019s Black Awareness Day<\/a>. Since its inception, the MNLM has hoped to tie its fight for social housing with the wider narrative of racial justice struggles both in the state of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil as a whole. Their Solano Trindade and Manuel Congo<\/a> occupations in Rio are named after illustrious black Brazilians known for their contribution to the country\u2019s racial justice struggles\u00a0in the past.<\/p>\n

Families and activists of MNLM\u00a0occupied the\u00a0\u00a0property that currently makes up the Solano Trindade occupation on August 8. The land and buildings, which are managed<\/a> by the Federal Union Patrimony Secretariat of Brazil (SPU) and used to house laboratories of the neighboring Pan-American Center of Aphthous Fever, had been abandoned and unused for 12 years when the movement occupied it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nEdivaldo, one of the new residents in the occupied land, stated that Solano Trindade was \u201ccompleting four months of resistance<\/a>\u201d after having to overcome serious challenges from police and local authorities, standing strong in order to guarantee the \u201csocial function of property<\/a>, as stated in article 182 of the Federal Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n

MNLM sought to negotiate with the relevant government institutions since the occupation\u2019s inception in order to officially legitimize their use of the abandoned property for social housing. Representatives from the movement had met with the SPU and the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) and were in the process of establishing a deal when the occupiers were removed by the Military Police on August 21.<\/p>\n

Eventually, the evicted families regained access to the occupation and have since legalized\u00a0their status through negotiations with SPU and INCRA, though not without suffering intrusions from police forces intended to intimidate<\/a> the residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe already took the land, but the battle is just beginning,\u201d with these words Gelson Almeida–lead MNLM representative in Rio de Janeiro\u2013started off the presentation that constituted the main part of the gathering\u2019s agenda. He then described\u00a0the need to restructure the occupied space in order to foster \u201cmulti-use spaces\u201d that can fulfil community needs for workspaces, living quarters and educational facilities.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nThe \u201csarau<\/em>\u201d also had a presentation led by two\u00a0architecture students from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) on potential methods of building new houses on the land\u00a0and retrofitting old structures in order to maximize the amount of living space.<\/p>\n

The students, both seniors who had chosen to work with the Solano Trindade occupation for their final university projects, presented a detailed analysis of potential revitalization strategies for the run-down buildings within the occupied property using technology and materials made in Brazil and typically utilized in building post-natural disaster relief housing.<\/p>\n

After the student presentation, Almeida discussed at length the difficulty of gaining federal funding while preserving a sense of independence in building the community. The MNLM representative specifically criticized the Caixa Econ\u00f4mica Federal (Federal Savings Bank) specifications for social housing support, which dictate that projects such as Solano Trindade must follow the specifications of federal social housing initiatives to be financed by the government\u00a0Minha Casa Minha Vida<\/a>\u00a0(MCMV) program.<\/p>\n

According to Almeida, MCMV\u00a0contains a series of stipulations that condition the aid it gives to citizens in need of housing. Details such as the building materials to be used in construction, the dimensions of new housing structures, and the companies and technicians to be consulted throughout the process would be decided without consulting the community if Solano Trindade chose to agree to the terms of the Federal Savings Bank.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nThe MNLM works according to the stated wishes and necessities of the community it strives to represent, according to Almeida, who states that \u201cwe won\u2019t do anything if the community does not take part<\/a> in the planning process.\u201d MNLM occupations strive to create a communal living pattern, in stark contrast to what they perceive as the isolating effect of verticalized Minha Casa Minha Vida housing complexes<\/a>. The families all contribute money for food, which they consume in a communal kitchen where a rotating list of volunteers cook meals four times a day. Some consumption costs are also split among the families, as is the responsibility for caring for and cleaning the space, as well as keeping it safe.<\/p>\n

For the unique case of the Solano Trindade occupation, many of the federal demands not only present serious difficulties for the MNLM\u2019s participatory operational model but also shut out several of the families from the federal benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cut-off for social housing is a salary of R$1,600,\u201d said Almeida.\u00a0\u201cwhich means if people who have been involved in the occupation process from the beginning now earn a bit more, they would not be allowed to live in Solano Trindade.\u201d<\/p>\n

Financial concerns arise from the funding stipulations as well. During their presentation, the UFRJ students said\u00a0that the average cost of building a typical Minha Casa Minha Vida housing unit is R$76,000, while new units built with the materials and techniques they presented would average around R$40,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cMinha Casa Minha Vida creates no incentive for technical innovation,\u201d said\u00a0Ricelli Laplace, one of the two students who worked on the Solano Trindade case study. \u201cIt monopolizes the construction of social housing and doesn\u2019t allow for new ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

These complications show how much more of a fight still lies ahead for the occupation. The next step for MNLM leaders in Rio is lobbying for customized terms for the occupation<\/a> in Caxias or finding alternative sources of funding. However, the financial constraints are just a few of a series of greater, if interrelated, obstacles.<\/p>\n

Solano Trindade currently has enough housing capacity for ten families, but between 30 and 50 families show up to the planning meetings organized in the land\u2019s communal space every 15 days. These are just some of the many families the MNLM keeps on a waiting list for housing in their occupations. As they wait for a spot, they receive orientation on their rights to housing and on the movement\u2019s collective\u00a0living model. Unfortunately, the scarcity of available occupied space means they have to prioritize access for those who need it most.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“If we posted a sign saying \u2018Free Housing\u2019 outside Solano Trindade, we would have 3,000 families lining up the next day,\u201d said Almeida, discussing the movement\u2019s need to\u00a0carefully allot\u00a0its available space.<\/p>\n

Despite the continuing struggle to maintain and advance the occupation, residents took the opportunity to celebrate their achievements once the presentations finished. As night fell in Duque de Caxias, strings of fairy lights went up in the balcony of Solano Trindade\u2019s main building, and the residents\u00a0started blasting dance music on professional-grade speakers as another painted a mural of the MNLM symbol in the background. Later, children\u00a0ran around the grounds while some of the older residents read\u00a0poetry to an audience of residents and guests.<\/p>\n

Throughout the event celebrating\u00a0the occupation, as well as Black Awareness Day, many people present\u00a0echoed Almeida’s closing statement: \u201cIt will be a long struggle, but it has not and will not be in vain.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas On Friday November 20, members and supporters of the National Movement of\u00a0Housing Vindication (Movimento Nacional de Luta Pela Moradia, or\u00a0MNLM) came together to celebrate\u00a0the early successes of the Solano Trindade occupation […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":19428,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1288,1290,1333,329,1329],"tags":[29,460,1041,219,756,258,694,282,26,859,1071,919,157,296,537,888,744,270],"writer":[1428],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19413","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-highlight","8":"category-civilsociety","9":"category-event-reports","10":"category-solutions","11":"category-by-international-observers","12":"tag-architecture","13":"tag-baixada-fluminense","14":"tag-black-awareness-month","15":"tag-collective-action","16":"tag-community-organizing","17":"tag-community-solution","18":"tag-duque-de-caxias","19":"tag-housing","20":"tag-housing-rights","21":"tag-innovation","22":"tag-minha-casa-minha-vida-entidades","23":"tag-mnlm","24":"tag-minha-casa-minha-vida","25":"tag-occupation","26":"tag-organic-architecture","27":"tag-police-intimidation","28":"tag-policy-critique","29":"tag-resistance","30":"writer-francis-torres"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19413"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=19413"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=19413"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=19413"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=19413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}