Learn a little about the situation at the Lamarca Squat in Brasil.

The situation at the Carlos Lamarca squat in Osasco is really complicated, the papers showed claiming the eviction of the sem-tetos(homeless) are full of blemish and the arguments maded by the CityHall of Osasco always ended up been entangled in contradictions. So to get a better knowledge of what is going on over there you must understand point by point of the different issues that involve the "Ghost of Eviction" the thousands of sem-teto's families are living with in Lamarca.

Last Thursday (08/22) delegates from the movements who organized the Carlos Lamarca Squat (MTST, MLP, RP) in Osasco had a meeting with the Mayor Celso Giglio, the Liutenant Edson, Liutenant Reginaldo and the secretary of the Housing Secretariat of the State of São Paulo. The Housing Secretariat and the CityHall offered to get a new piece of land to the sem-teto. They wanted them to get out of the area where they are right now and move to this new land, the deadline was last Sunday (08/25). They said if it was the case they would even rent a land to them. But, on the same day the CityHall called the sem-teto and told them that the responsibility to find a land is not the CityHall's but the sem-teto's responsibility. Since the sem-teto had already made up a research of the lands from Osasco (so they could choose the better location for this ocupation), they had already some possible opitions, they gave these opitions to the CityHall to approve. In an analise the CityHall said they would not accept the lands because those lands were already separated to be use in a "housing project". The sem-teto questioned if they (over 5 thousand families without a house) would not be part of this project. The CityHall said that the "housing project" that will be made on the lands pointed by the sem-teto didn’t start yet, they are not planned yet so they don’t exist. The sem-teto, trying one more time to solve this problem, offered help on the development of this project together with the CityHall so they would not only get a house to those 5 thousand families that live today at the camp but to the others thousands that live in favelas (poor neighborhoods) in Osasco. The CityHall denied the help saying that this kind of work has to be done only by them.

That are 3 different lands at the area where the squat is: -a piece that belong to the CityHall; -a piece from the Grama company; -and the other that belongs to the Sta Régia company. Accord with the CityHall their piece of land was supposed to be used to social ends (playground, housing projects etc). Since it was not possible to develop any of those projects the land now doesn’t belong to the CityHall anymore. The contradictions of this statement are two soccer fields that was build on the CityHall's piece of land to the local community benefit, what goes against the information that these land was never used to social ends before. Besides that the land does not have any claim made by the CityHall to have the reintegration of the land. The part that belongs to the Sta Régia Comapany, doesn't have a official paper that proves for real ownership of the land by the Company. This land also doesn’t any claim made by the real land lord for the reintegration. The Grama Comapany is the only one who claimed for the reintegration of land and who is complainning bout the area. The problem is that they don’t claimmed only for their land but also for the CityHall and the Sta Régia's parts, even knowing that this is an ilegal act since they are not the real owners of the whole area. A possible solution was gave by the sem-teto during the negotiation, that they could get out of the land owned by Grama and still squatting the others lands, owned by the CityHall and the Sta Régia Company since that is no claim for the reintegration of the land made legally by the real owner. The CityHall denied this option affirming that are a claim for the reintegration of the land for these area, even knowing that this claim can not be considered legally.

At the beginning of the ocupation the Secretariat of Housing assumed the engagement of making a file of the families. They never showed up at the camp for that. The movements toke the innicative to make the files themselves. During days (sometimes even through the whole night) was made a file of the families (to know where they came from, how many people are in the family and if they have any income). They counted over 5 thousand families. And they are still counting. These families are peopole who live in houses of relatives and/or friends as favor or live in tends at the favelas(poor neighborhoods). The majority doesn’t have a minimu wage, when they have any wage it goes between R$50 or R$200 a month (around US$15 to 80). Mostly of them came from the northeast from Brasil looking for a solution to the miserable life lived at the northeast drought. It most exist around 8 thousand children and teenagers at the squat. Therefore, these families can not be ingnored by the authorities of Osasco.

The Police in a visit to the camp assumed that if an eviction of the sem-teto happen, a "Urban Version of the Massacre of Eldorado dos Carajás" will happen. They are making patrols at the place during day and night. Lots of people at the camp has already suffered agressions and threats made by the police while they were walk through the neighborhood. During the night of last Friday-08/23 (right after the meeting with the CityHall and the Secretariat of Housing) two police cars came and some policemen carring shot-guns and revolvers, walked through some part of the camp at 2am destroying some tends and beating up some people from the squat. A neighbor who lives close by the camp and who supports the camp was stoped by the police and beat up when they were going to his house (the side walk of his house is where the police park their car so they can patrol the camp during the night). When some sem-tetos tried to stop the police action of violence, the policemen came to them pointing their guns and threating them.

The families of Carlos Lamarca camp are organizing themselves in groups and are working the resistence. In an assembley was decided that they will not leave the area squatted if that is not another area pointed by the CityHall or the Secretariat of Housing. They know if they leave the area by themselves they will be massacred by the police and probably will end up in the streets, without a place to go. Because of that the families are already organized and they will resist till the end. Even knowing that if an eviction happen, probably another "Massacre of Eldorado dos Carajás" will happen, only that this time the massacre will be in a urban area.

On April 17, 1996 the Military Police of Pará state came from the headquarters with a mission to repress a march organized by the MST (Landless Workers Movement). Under the command of Major José Maria Pereira de Oliveira, 68 men carring four machine-guns, fifty military rifles and revolvers came from one side of the road where the sem-teto were. By the other side 200 men came under the command of Colonel Mário Colares Pantoja, carring machine-guns and revolvers. None of them had any identification. The group from Marabá came throwing tear gaz bombs. At the beginning, the workers resisted throwing rocks and storn. However, when they heard the first shots, they tried to run and hide. The massacre took around one hour, having as a result 19 landless workers killed and 69 people injuried.