Earlier today (January 17, 2017), the São Paulo Military Police showed up at the San Mateo Colonial Occupation and evicted the area, in which 700 families lived.
The first operative of reintegration of positions, overseen by João Doria, had the characteristics of a military operation. Around 6 am, the Military Police showed up with infantry and trucks and advanced on the houses and families that had occupied the lands in the east zone of São Paulo.
During the police operation, Guilherme Boulos, leader of the Homeless Workers’ Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Teto, in Portuguese) arrived, in order to find a negotiated and peaceful solution to the violent police action, however, he was arrested on charges of civil disobedience and for being part of the mobilizations against the current (unelected) President Michel Temer.
MST Repudiates the Violence Against the MTST
Da Página do MST
The Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST) is publicly repudiating the violent repossession by the Military Police of the State of São Paulo on Tuesday (17), in the eastern part of São Paulo.
The action resulted in the eviction of 700 families and the arbitrary arrest of the coordinator of the Movement of Homeless Workers (MTST), Guilherme Boulos.
This attitude is configured in the clear criminalization of the struggles of the popular movements by the government of Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB) and by the São Paulo justice system.
The treatment of social issues as a police and criminal case is an affront to the constitutional rights of the Brazilian population.
It is evident that this strategy of violence, which is also true in rural areas, aims to intimidate and attack rural and urban workers.
The MST stands in solidarity with the families and demands the immediate release of Guilherme Boulos.
National Directorate of the MST
São Paulo, January 17, 2017
Picture Credits: Jorge Ferreira / Mídia NINJA
