{"id":19879,"date":"2015-01-14T09:00:10","date_gmt":"2015-01-14T12:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=19879"},"modified":"2016-01-28T17:38:05","modified_gmt":"2016-01-28T20:38:05","slug":"update-vila-autodromo-continues-to-resist-in-the-face-of-government-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=19879","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE: Vila Aut\u00f3dromo Continues to Resist Olympic Eviction in the Face of Government Pressure [IMAGES]"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Trucks and construction workers pass by the residents of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a>. The 2016 Olympics construction site next door is growing, with huge buildings taking shape\u00a0behind the fence\u00a0adjacent\u00a0to the community. Many of the empty lots\u00a0left behind by\u00a0demolished homes\u00a0are now being used as parking lots. A large hotel is quickly\u00a0appearing behind what was once a row of trees planted by residents decades ago, and the constant sounds of the construction site and the demolition of houses<\/a> overwhelms the atmosphere in the community.<\/p>\n

\"Hotel<\/a>
Hotel rises across the street from low rise Vila Aut\u00f3dromo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Vila<\/a>
Many of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo’s demolished lots are now used as parking for Olympics construction workers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Around half of the original residents have now accepted\u00a0deals offered by the government<\/a> and left the community. The longer residents stay, the better the deals they are\u00a0offered. But these meetings are always held one-on-one and in private, so residents aren’t aware of what has been offered or accepted by neighbors. Maria da Penha, one of dozens of families committed to staying regardless of the offer, says that sums up to R$2.3 to R$2.5 million (US$870.000 to US$950.000) have\u00a0been offered to some of the families for their houses–the first market-rate compensations in favela history. Each house is a different case, Maria says, and\u00a0the method to make residents leave is to approach them individually<\/a>. She expects half of the residents still remaining will leave eventually, explaining that many of them are waiting to be offered the market rates others have received before they make a\u00a0deal. The fact market-rate compensations are being offered is of incredible historic significance and means other favelas facing similar pressures will have this precedent to ground their struggle for fair compensation.\u00a0Yet Maria says no amount of money can make her leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want money, I don\u2019t want anything, I want to stay (\u2026) I am happy [here], and money can\u2019t buy happiness,\u201d she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Maria has\u00a0lived in\u00a0Vila Aut\u00f3dromo for 22 years. She explains that her history is in that community<\/a>: her daughter was born there and she built her house with her own two hands. \u201cI built my house to live in, not to sell it or to move from it,\u201d she said. She feels so much love for the community and speaks of the calmness and peacefulness she feels here.<\/p>\n

Residents know they have a right to stay\u00a0and\u00a0thanks to the efforts of the Neighborhood Association to promote their rights through legal, media and protest channels, are not being forced to leave until they agree to compensation offers. Due to the visibility generated in this community, and their legal claims, in 2013 Mayor Eduardo Paes publicly pledged<\/a> that no one would leave the community without their consent and that those who stayed would receive public works. In order to convince people to leave, then, offers began climbing, from an apartment in a closely located public housing development with a swimming pool<\/a>, to multiple apartments for one family, to growing compensation, and now full market-rate compensations.<\/p>\n

\"Vila<\/a>
Vila Aut\u00f3dromo life continues.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even so, residents\u00a0feel pressured<\/a>, Maria explains. They\u00a0are visited in their homes by authorities who offer them money to leave while\u00a0the sight, noise and pollution associated with the growing construction next to the community add pressure for them to\u00a0take the offers, even among those who would vastly prefer to stay.<\/p>\n

Pressure from the authorities comes at a\u00a0primal\u00a0level:\u00a0the\u00a0community is suffering problems with\u00a0running water as the City cuts\u00a0off services in order to\u00a0make staying unbearable<\/a>, and then there are those\u00a0living with constant dust from demolished houses. One woman spoke of severe respiratory problems that have emerged. At the same time, the Municipal Guard is stationed at the community’s entrance prohibiting residents from bringing construction materials in. And some on the second floor who have had downstairs neighbors take settlements, now live on top of smashed walls and debris. They also suffer with the social loss of the emptiness left behind by those who left.<\/p>\n

But the strength and organization of resistance among Vila Aut\u00f3dromo residents continues to be\u00a0inspirational, especially\u00a0for other communities facing eviction<\/a>. Symbolizing hope, a\u00a0playful\u00a0form of civil\u00a0disobedience emerges as a group of residents hang out in what used to be somebody\u2019s house\u2013now, it\u2019s an empty lot where they set up a plastic pool for kids to play. In doing so, residents rewrite the fate of a community partially\u00a0erased by bulldozers.<\/p>\n

\"Demolished<\/a>
Demolished lot now home to swimming pool in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, very welcome during these hot summer months.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The future remains uncertain for the remaining residents but those who stay have the law on their side and will not give up their homes easily. As she explains, Maria “will not give up her 22 year history for 15 days of Olympic Games”. She will not leave so that her community can become a luxury\u00a0development post-Olympics, as is generally presumed to be the real reason for the authorities’ commitment to evict\u00a0the residents of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. Maria stands\u00a0on the roof terrace of her home, facing the beautiful lagoon and mountains surrounding the city. She looks out over the houses remaining and says: \u201cThere are still a lot of houses left, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Maria<\/a>
Maria da Penha looks out from her rooftop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Don’t miss the full album below, or click here<\/a> to see on Flickr with captions:<\/h3>\n