{"id":26283,"date":"2016-01-15T12:00:06","date_gmt":"2016-01-15T15:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=26283"},"modified":"2020-09-19T13:41:35","modified_gmt":"2020-09-19T16:41:35","slug":"vila-autodromo-on-the-brink-of-violence-community-awakens-to-shock-police-and-a-new-wall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=26283","title":{"rendered":"Vila Aut\u00f3dromo on the Brink of Violence? Community Awakens to Shock Police and Wall"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

This Wednesday, January 13,\u00a0Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a>\u00a0woke up around 7 o’clock\u00a0to find a large number of Rio\u2019s Tropa de Choque (<\/em>Shock Troops), a police unit specifically used for controlling large public manifestations and events of civil unrest, around the neighborhood of a few dozen families. Residents had had no warning police would be there or what was to\u00a0take place. Lacking information, residents feared a repeat of the attempted demolition last June<\/a> that resulted in conflict with the Municipal Guard and\u00a0at least six injured.<\/span><\/p>\n

Accompanied by the sub-Mayor for Barra da Tijuca<\/a>, Alex Costa<\/a>,\u00a0and his assistant Marli Pe\u00e7anha<\/a>,\u00a0the Shock Troops installed\u00a0a large white fence across\u00a0the community\u2019s main road, which now cuts off a large portion of the community\u2019s access to the lagoon. The fence isolates the houses of two families that remain\u00a0in the portion of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo on the shore,\u00a0as described in this video with one of the remaining residents<\/a>. Now, these families will have to get to their houses by walking through the Olympic Park, which is still under construction, requesting permission every time they receive\u00a0a guest in their homes to enter through the Park. <\/span>One resident measured the distance these two families now have to walk from the nearest public transportation<\/a> to their home\u00a0as five to six kilometers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Although the police left the area\u00a0before noon, community members stayed together afterwards to discuss ways to react. One resident spoke about the need to identify\u00a0the specific laws that protect a person\u2019s right of\u00a0access to\u00a0their own home. Residents also suggested\u00a0city officials know exactly what laws exist, but that they take advantage of residents<\/a> who do not have the same familiarity with those laws.<\/span><\/p>\n

In response to the construction of the wall, a group of residents went to the local police to register an incident report. The residents wanted to make sure all aspects of the incident were recorded formally.\u00a0They\u00a0believed the early hour of the incident was meant to surprise them, and felt the failure to notify residents before coming and the use of\u00a0the armed Shock Troops were uncalled for and constituted a crime. At first, the Military\u00a0Police would not record the incident since they believed there was no crime committed; the Civil Police gave the same response.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

When Vila Aut\u00f3dromo residents insisted at least an event report should be registered, the police’s first report was vague and did not include details such as the presence of the Shock Troops or the lack of notice. Even after more details were added and the formal event report was filed, the incident was categorized as a \u201cfato at\u00edpico<\/em>” (atypical case)\u00a0which means there was no official crime committed. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On\u00a0the community Facebook page\u00a0residents wrote<\/a>: \u201cImpeding access to a part of our community, using the Shock Troops from the Municipal Guard, and closing a public road<\/em>. Then\u00a0what is<\/em> a crime?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Original<\/a>
Original barricade, removed overnight<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"New<\/a>
New barricade erected by the community on January 14<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yesterday\u00a0morning, Thursday January 14, residents reported\u00a0further cause for concern. The barricade the community had erected and maintained at the entrance to the community, with 24×7 vigilance by residents since December,\u00a0was removed by the Municipal Guard overnight<\/a>.\u00a0Residents replaced the original barricade<\/a>\u00a0with a\u00a0new one<\/a>. The original barrier, made of wooden planks, wooden crates, and furniture, was built to prevent large trucks from further ruining the main road through Vila Aut\u00f3dromo on their way to the Olympic Park construction site, and to impede nonconsensual demolitions taking place on properties which had not yet received due compensation. Once again, residents were not given advance warning and they wrote on Facebook<\/a>: “As always, we don’t know what could happen.” They stated their intention to prevent the Municipal Guard from removing the barricade if they tried again, and asked\u00a0their allies\u00a0for help: “Whoever is able to support us, come here, because the situation could become tense!”<\/p>\n

This week’s unfolding of events in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, from\u00a0the use of Shock Troops traditionally associated with urban land\u00a0evictions, to the removal of the barricade that provides some element of protection and warning to residents, paints a grim picture for the violence we may see in weeks to come as the City desperately tries to remove the remaining residents of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Video by resident describing the erecting of the wall in the community (in Portuguese):<\/h3>\n