After the mobilization by the street Carnival in São Paulo, the movement also takes place in Rio de Janeiro. A manifesto signed by almost 130 blocks and associations was launched this Monday (11) for the right to parades.
The groups also convened a public act for the next Wednesday (13), with the objective of marking the position for the revelry.
The manifesto highlights that the incentive for Carnival is provided for in the Organic Law of the Municipality and that it is up to the public authorities to guarantee resources and infrastructure for the party. In addition, the organizers argue that the city hall cannot prevent street revelry.
“Carnival is not a social event that depends on a permit from the government, it is a popular expression and a historical right conquered in the struggle. The street belongs to the people and our voice is free”, describes the document.
THE CNNRiotur, the city’s tourism company, responsible for the party, announced that it had made all the preparations to resume street carnival in 2022. However, the project’s stoppage made it impossible to carry out this year due to the planning time.
“At the time, the value of the grant for Riotur alone was around R$ 6 million. The winning sponsor would pay for all the infrastructure surrounding the street Carnival. When the decision was made not to carry out the street Carnival, all of Riotur’s work with the numerous public bodies (from the city hall and state) was paralyzed”, disclosed the organ.
Kiko Horta, musician from Cordão do Boitatá, one of the groups that signs the manifesto, points out that there will be samba school parades in Sapucaí and Intendente Magalhães (space for the access series), in addition to private parties. Therefore, he argues that the ban on street blocks makes no sense.
“In these two years, the blocks in Rio were exemplary, no one left, everyone locked down, this whole network of workers, musicians, street vendors. Now, there is no excuse for not being able to go out on the street. Because the street Carnival is the most important popular event in Rio and generates enormous benefits in cultural and economic terms”, he added.
Horta says that no one expects a party like the one in 2019, before the pandemic, but argues that there should be no repression against groups that want to demonstrate, especially after the end of restrictions against Covid-19. He also asks for a task force from the city hall and companies to make street revelry possible.
“I believe that many blocks will want to do a symbolic act and they are entitled to do so. It’s not a riot, it’s a gesture of love for the city,” she declared.
Attempt to negotiate ends without consensus
This Monday, according to the office of councilor Tarcísio Motta (PSOL), president of the Special Committee on Carnival of the Chamber of Rio, the Municipality denied two requests made by the parliamentarian.
Last week, Motta sent a request to the city hall so that the groups Cordão da Bola Preta, Bafo da Onça and Cacique de Ramos could perform at Terreirão do Samba, a traditional space for concerts in Rio. Riotur informed that, on the requested date, the space will be closed, as it will be followed by a business day.
Another request was for the Afro-matrix blocks to perform the washing ritual of the cultural corridor in the Lapa neighborhood, followed by a dance at the headquarters of the Federation of Afro and Afoxés Blocks (Febarj).
President Febarj, Paulo Cesar Xavier, said that the demonstration is important from a cultural point of view and that it needs public funds. He highlighted that the two years of stoppage of events during the pandemic left an intense financial impact on musicians, cultural producers and the entity itself.
“The Afro blocks, along with the street blocks, are fighting to be able to have Carnival”, declared the president of Febarj, a group that also signs the Occupy Carnival manifesto.
One of the signatories of the manifesto, Cordão da Bola Preta, informed that he signed it “because he understands that the street Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is being neglected by the public authorities”. However, in a note, the block’s advice said that there is no intention of holding a parade at the moment.
“The objective is to draw the attention of the City Hall to the case, since it did not present a solution for the sector or communicated with the blocks so that they could find ways to carry out the parades in the streets”, says the note.
The public act of the groups in defense of street revelry takes place at 5 pm this Wednesday, with departure from Candelária to Cinelândia, in downtown Rio de Janeiro.
The Independent Association of Street Carnival Blocks in Zona Sul, Santa Teresa and Centro do Rio (Sebastiana) maintains the decision taken earlier this year not to hold parades in 2022. The entity points out that the city would not have the means to prepare the infrastructure necessary for the 600 city blocks to parade in just four days.
Asked how it will act in relation to the possibility of blocks on the next holiday and whether there will be inspection, the Municipal Public Order Department (Seop) informed that, at the moment, it is only concerned with the details of the operation for the parades in Sapucaí.
During Carnival, between the end of February and the beginning of March, some groups took to the streets of the city even without authorization from the city hall. At the time, the demonstrations were demobilized by Seop and the Municipal Guard.
The street Carnival was canceled by Mayor Eduardo Paes in January, due to the Covid-19 situation in the city. On the date, Paes said that planning required advance and that the epidemiological scenario was uncertain.
Currently, on the part of the Municipal Health Department (SMS), “from an epidemiological point of view, the only restriction in force in the city is the mandatory vaccination passport in closed events”.
Carnival in Sao Paulo
In the capital of São Paulo, on the afternoon of this Monday, the city hall ruled out the realization of street Carnival this April. However, officials said they are looking for an alternative date later this year, with time to organize the logistics.
Source: CNN Brasil
