{"id":27012,"date":"2016-02-23T23:28:05","date_gmt":"2016-02-24T02:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=27012"},"modified":"2020-09-19T13:41:35","modified_gmt":"2020-09-19T16:41:35","slug":"tensest-week-yet-vila-autodromo-sends-out-sos-as-shock-troops-return-in-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=27012","title":{"rendered":"Tensest Week Yet: Vila Aut\u00f3dromo Sends Out SOS as Shock Troops Return in Force"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Shock troops and the\u00a0Municipal Guard were once again deployed in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a> on Monday February 22, this time to reposition the wooden wal<\/span>l<\/span> they had <\/span>erected on January 13<\/span><\/a>. On the same day, the suspension of the demolition order<\/a> for the Neighborhood\u00a0Association <\/span>came to an end. Residents<\/span>\u00a0sent out SOS messages on social media<\/a> to alert\u00a0supporters of the likelihood\u00a0of\u00a0further demolitions and intimidation in coming days.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dozens of armed troops entered the community without warning around 7am on Monday, following the pattern displayed in the previous two occasions when Shock Troops <\/span>descended on Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/span><\/a> in force. Since January 13,\u00a0a wooden wall has separated the majority of the community from a narrow strip along the lagoon with two remaining homes. Now, the barricade blocks all access to the lagoon and further constricts the community’s boundaries, while continuing to strand part of the original neighborhood within the confines of the Olympic Park.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

One resident, M\u00e1rcio, whose home now borders the fence\u2019s new path, appeared to be suffering\u00a0<\/span>a heart attack<\/span><\/a> following an altercation with the troops. According to his neighbors, the troops blocked access to his home until residents insisted he would die if left unattended. After eventually receiving treatment at\u00a0a nearby hospital, M\u00e1rcio\u00a0returned home the same day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"M\u00e1rcio<\/p>\n

In response to the construction encroaching further and further into Vila Aut\u00f3dromo\u2019s territory, residents <\/span>asked<\/span><\/a> on Facebook: \u201cIn Vila Aut\u00f3dromo\u2019s long journey, who are the invaders of this land? The residents who received land titles from the Rio de Janeiro State Institute of Land and Cartography (<\/span>ITERJ) which designated this land for social interest housing? Or the City which is stealthily occupying an area that doesn\u2019t belong to it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Following\u00a0Monday\u2019s events and the end to the injunction against the demolition of the Neighborhood\u00a0Association, residents are\u00a0calling for press and for\u00a0the community\u2019s allies and supporters to join them in an ongoing vigil and occupation in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. The exceptional tension of this week was highlighted\u00a0when the community Facebook page posted\u00a0both a summary<\/a> of the previous day’s events and a call for support<\/a> in English, a rare occurrence on the usually Portuguese-only page. The latter post concluded:<\/span><\/p>\n

“The situation of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo is very fragile. Residents and supporters are called to support the community as soon as possible. Their struggle is going through a crucial time.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In addition to the Neighborhood\u00a0Association, residents worry the house belonging to the Penha family and that belonging to Candombl\u00e9 priestess Heloisa Helena Costa Berto<\/a>\u00a0could be demolished any day now. The Penhas and Heloisa Helena have been dedicated and visible activists in the struggle to remain, so, like the Neighborhood\u00a0Association, their homes are of immense symbolic importance to the community. The Penhas’ home\u00a0is now the only remaining home included in the Mayor\u2019s declaration<\/a> of eminent domain last March. Dona Maria da Penha<\/a> herself remains indefatigably upbeat. \u201cI\u2019ll stay on my feet,\u201d she said, while sweeping her floor in preparation to host activists and allies in her house overnight. \u201cEven if the house falls, I will stay on my feet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Other residents were less positive. One reflected on the irony of Brazil\u2019s motto, <\/span>ordem e progresso <\/span><\/i>(order and progress). She said: \u201cWhat order? There\u2019s none. What progress? Only in the pockets of politicians.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Stay tuned for updates from Vila Aut\u00f3dromo\u2019s community Facebook page<\/a>\u00a0as well as @RioONWire<\/a> and @RioOnWatchLiveTweet<\/a>\u00a0on Twitter as we follow the occupation and the City\u2019s actions from the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Vila<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas Shock troops and the\u00a0Municipal Guard were once again deployed in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo on Monday February 22, this time to reposition the wooden wall they had erected on January 13. On the […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":27034,"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":[1293,1736,1288,1290,336,1329],"tags":[756,11,1484,1948,618,5,270,379,520,4,21],"writer":[1352,1304],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-27012","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-evictionswatch","8":"category-1736","9":"category-highlight","10":"category-civilsociety","11":"category-violations","12":"category-by-international-observers","13":"tag-community-organizing","14":"tag-forced-evictions","15":"tag-intimidation","16":"tag-iterj","17":"tag-neighborhood-association","18":"tag-olympics","19":"tag-resistance","20":"tag-shock-police","21":"tag-solidarity","22":"tag-vila-autodromo","23":"tag-west-zone","24":"writer-cerianne-robertson","25":"writer-meg-healy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27012","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\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27012"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=27012"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=27012"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=27012"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=27012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}