{"id":27420,"date":"2016-03-10T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2016-03-10T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=27420"},"modified":"2020-08-07T14:04:16","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T17:04:16","slug":"rio-mayor-demolishes-home-of-prize-winning-woman-citizen-on-international-womens-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=27420","title":{"rendered":"Rio Mayor Demolishes Home of Prize Winning ‘Woman Citizen’ on International Women’s Day [VIDEO]"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

For women around the world, International Women’s Day<\/a> is a day for celebration. This year,\u00a0Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a>‘s\u00a0Maria da Penha, recognized in the morning here on RioOnWatch<\/em><\/a>, had planned\u00a0to spend the day celebrating. Dona Penha was scheduled to speak on a 2pm panel on \u201cWomen in the City\u201d as part of the latest<\/a> If The\u00a0City Were Ours\u00a0conference<\/a>, to be followed by\u00a0a 6pm award ceremony at Rio’s State Assembly, ALERJ, where she would win\u00a0the Woman Citizen award “Diploma Mulher Cidad\u00e3 Leolinda de Figueiredo Daltro<\/a>,”\u00a0for her courageous efforts fighting for housing rights in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo and across the city.<\/p>\n

Instead, at 6am Dona Penha\u00a0awoke to\u00a0Shock Troops<\/a> surrounding her home, poised to demolish it. She spent the\u00a0morning removing\u00a0her remaining\u00a0possessions, and was forced to cancel the 2pm speaking engagement.\u00a0Then, shortly after the demolition, the community got word that Rio\u00a0Mayor Eduardo Paes<\/a>\u00a0scheduled a press conference at the Mayor’s Palace, the Pal\u00e1cio da Cidade, for 5pm, concurrently with the ALERJ award, to announce his plan to upgrade\u00a0Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. Likely in response to the growing global pressure of the\u00a0#UrbanizaJ\u00e1<\/a>\u00a0viral\u00a0video campaign<\/a>, his announcement of upgrades had not been at any point\u00a0presented to the community itself.<\/p>\n

Vila Aut\u00f3dromo residents thus planned their own press conference outside the gates of the Palace\u00a0for 4pm. This way they could share their views with journalists arriving on site, then attend the Mayor’s press conference to learn of his plans for the community. But such a\u00a0democratic exchange\u00a0was not in the cards.\u00a0Upon hearing of the community’s press conference,\u00a0Mayor Paes changed the location of his press conference\u00a0last minute. Vila Aut\u00f3dromo residents were therefore shut out of the event where their fate would be unveiled. They, along with\u00a0supporters, held their press conference then headed to ALERJ to witness Maria da Penha receive her award. The day ended with a celebration of Penha’s\u00a0strength and fortitude in the struggle to stay in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo.<\/p>\n

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

Over recent months, the city has ramped up its pressure<\/a> on Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, located adjacent to the Olympic Park. In December, those who had refused to leave were threatened, with Sub-Mayor\u00a0Alex Costa<\/a>\u00a0declaring,\u00a0\u201cif you don\u2019t leave out of love you will leave out of pain<\/a>.\u201d With the Olympics approximately five months away, the past couple of weeks<\/a>\u00a0have seen an increase in symbolic demolitions. The home of Neighborhood Association President Altair Guimar\u00e3es<\/a>\u00a0was illegally demolished, along with the the Neighborhood Association building<\/a> itself and threats of demolition to Maria da Penha\u2019s home. Worried by these threats, hundreds of supporters have stayed watch, maintaining\u00a0a constant presence in the community, standing guard over this prominent community leader\u2019s long fought for home. Tuesday morning, however, at 6am, the City came with some 100 Municipal Guards. Instead of entering through one of the community\u2019s main entrances, they entered through the Olympic Park, disassembling an existing fence to gain access to Dona Penha\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

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

After surrounding Dona Penha’s home, they awaited the removal of the\u00a0remainder of her belongings, before moving residents and supporters behind the cordon in preparation for the demolition<\/a>. The demolition began with no engineer oversight and no water sprayed on the rubble–this reduces dust, crucial when considering the presence of a one month old baby in the nearby home of M\u00e1rcio and Rafaela. Maria da Penha’s daughter Nathalia condemned the demolition taking\u00a0place<\/a> on International Women\u2019s Day. Supporters and residents chanted \u201cUrbaniza J\u00e1<\/a>, a Vila Vai Ficar!\u201d (Upgrades Now, Vila Autodromo will Remain!) and some pointed out the stark contrast between the City\u2019s actions and the Brazilian national motto of \u201cOrder and Progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

After the demolition, the Municipal Guards dispersed, heading back into the Olympic Park\u00a0through the gap they had\u00a0made in the fence. Soon after, however, they returned, surrounding the home of M\u00e1rcio, Rafaela and their four children, including one month old Sofia. With the children poking their heads out from the door in terrified confusion, residents and supporters rushed to the house, fearing an illegal demolition. Some were able to get inside the Municipal Guard cordon, but when Penha\u2019s husband Luiz tried to get through to join them, he was pushed back with riot shields. After a few tense moments, M\u00e1rcio and Public Defenders<\/a> told the Municipal Guard they could not legally be there, and they left, disappearing as quickly as they had appeared. Resident Sandra Maria alleged that the Guards were attempting to move the wall dividing the community and the Rio 2016 construction site, isolating M\u00e1rcio\u2019s home. A similar tactic of isolation and intimidation had been used against Heloisa Helena<\/a>, whose home and religious site were\u00a0demolished\u00a0two weeks ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

Maria da Penha told a crowd of journalists assembled in the community to witness the demolition that \u201ctoday, International Women\u2019s Day, they destroyed my home, a life story, but they didn\u2019t destroy me\u2026 This is how things work in this country. For mega-events<\/a>, they take your house and you\u2019re in the street.\u201d She reaffirmed her desire to stay, saying that \u201cthe fight is now for me to stay in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo\u2026 the fight goes on.” As Dona\u00a0Penha and Luiz Claudio spoke to the assembled media, supporters helped move their belongings to the community’s Catholic Church, where they will now stay.<\/p>\n

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

As the dust settled upon the rubble of Penha\u2019s home, Mayor Eduardo Paes, who has repeatedly promised that those who want to stay in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo can stay<\/a>, announced a press conference at the Mayor’s\u00a0Palace in Botafogo at 5pm, where he would unveil his plans for upgrades to Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. Over the past week hundreds of people across Rio, Brazil, and increasingly internationally have galvanized behind a growing\u00a0viral campaign for the Mayor to keep his promise and Upgrade Now (#UrbanizaJ\u00e1).<\/p>\n

Residents and supporters quickly planned their own event outside the Palace at 4pm to tell the media their side of the story and renew their calls for the award-winning People\u2019s Plan<\/a>, a plan that has been developed by the community, iteratively, with the help of urban planners from both of Rio’s federal universities, to respond to every change made to the Olympic Plan next door, since 2012. They then planned to attend the Mayor\u2019s press conference to discover what he would present as the plan for\u00a0their community, a plan which he had not yet presented to\u00a0community members.<\/p>\n

At 4pm, residents spoke to media outside the gates of the Mayor’s\u00a0Palace while supporters displayed banners to passing traffic. Major Brazilian outlets attended the conference, including Globo<\/em>, Record<\/em> and SBT<\/em>. Maria da Penha told the media that \u201cthe prize I will receive tonight from ALERJ will serve to strengthen me in the struggle\u2026 the fight goes on as life goes on.\u201d Residents and supporters called for upgrades with chants of “Urbaniza J\u00e1, a Vila Vai Ficar!\u201d before explaining and passing out information about the award-winning People\u2019s Plan<\/a>. International media<\/a> have also widely<\/a> covered the demolition of Penha’s home and the events of Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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

It was during this discussion with the press in front of the City’s press conference\u2019s scheduled venue that residents discovered the Mayor\u2019s office had suddenly changed the time and place\u00a0of their event. Paes would now speak at\u00a0the Center of Operations, in Cidade Nova, at 4:30pm. A half hour journey at the best of times, let alone rush hour, this change made it impossible for residents to hear the Mayor unveil his intended plan. A RioOnWatch<\/em> team was able to get to the Center of Operations in Cidade Nova in time for the event, but were refused entry, told only journalists on a private list could attend.<\/p>\n

Professor of Urban Planning, Carlos Vainer, who coordinated the Vila Aut\u00f3dromo People\u2019s Plan<\/a> for the Federal University of\u00a0Rio do Janeiro (UFRJ), dismissed the Mayor\u2019s plan<\/a> as \u201cridiculous.\u201d It contained 30 houses, as opposed to the 50 required to house remaining families and included in the People\u2019s Plan, and the houses would be significantly smaller than those of current residents. They would all be positioned around a communal space, which Vainer condemned as a design that simply gives the appearance of community, rather than actually fostering it. In fact, the full reworking of the community per the Mayor’s plan is characteristic of urban renewal<\/a>, and not upgrading, as the Mayor promised. A Globo<\/em> article<\/a> from the Mayor\u2019s press conference reports the city has been in constant dialogue with Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, insisting that \u201cresidents want to receive higher compensation for their houses.\u201d Remaining residents, however, are those who have not negotiated with the City at any point–those recognized internationally for\u00a0their message<\/a> that not\u00a0everyone has a price<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

After residents and supporters gathered at the Mayor’s\u00a0Palace learned of the change of plans made with regard to\u00a0the Mayor\u2019s press conference, they hastily made their way to ALERJ, where Maria da Penha was due to receive the\u00a0award as part of International Women\u2019s Day. As they arrived, a rally<\/a> advocating women\u2019s reproductive, economic and cultural rights as well as awareness of violence against women was already underway. Inside, Penha took to the microphone to address the assembled crowd, of over 500 people. Many of the activists there already knew about the turmoil that Penha had been through that day, and her words were matched with chants of \u201cWe are all Dona Penha. We are all companions. We are all Vila Aut\u00f3dromo.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Penha\u2019s struggle was equally recognized within the halls of the State Assembly. As Deputy Enfermeira Rejane opened the event, she singled out Penha among the ten women being honored while also calling out the Paes administration for its actions: \u201cIt\u2019s not just about a house; it\u2019s about a lack of dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 2004, the Commission for the Defense of Women\u2019s Rights of the Rio de Janeiro State Assembly has honored women from the State who fight for the advancement of human and women\u2019s rights with the Leolinda Daltro Women Citizen Certificate. With her family and dozens of supporters present, Maria da Penha and her struggle for community and housing rights in the face of the Olympics was a favorite with the crowd, which jeered when Deputy Rejane thanked Mayor Paes for his role in the ceremony. Upon receiving her award, Penha dedicated it to her supporters and the residents of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo who give her the strength and love she needs to continue in the fight for Vila Aut\u00f3dromo.<\/p>\n

Don’t miss the video:<\/h3>\n