Ricardo Nunes has been exalted when dealing with social movements, says Boulos to CNN

Federal deputy Guilherme Boulos (PSOL-SP) declared, this Thursday (16), in an interview with CNN which the mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes (MDB), has been exalting when dealing with demonstrations and social movements.

Members of the Homeless Workers Movement (MTST) are camped in front of the São Paulo City Hall. The group settled in the place after holding a march to ask the mayor to comply with an alleged agreement made with the movement for the construction of popular housing.

A CNN , Nunes alleged that the MTST has a political bias and “that they say that I am not complying with the agreement. I don’t know what deal they’re referring to.” According to the São Paulo chief executive, the movement invaded an area that is part of a Special Environmental Protection Zone (Zepam) in 2013, called Nova Palestine, near the Guarapiranga dam.

“I hope that Mayor Ricardo Nunes knows how to deal with demonstrations and social movements. I see he’s been getting worked up about it. I expect from him serenity, balance to deal with, as the manager of the largest city in Brazil and fulfill the commitment with those families who live in Vila Nova Palestine”, explained Boulos.

The parliamentarian, who is coordinator of the MTST, explained that the agreement actually exists and was signed in 2020, with then-mayor Bruno Covas. At the time, he issued a decree of expropriation in that area for social housing. However, its maturity took place in 2021 due to non-payment of the measure by management.

With that, Nunes was wanted. The federal deputy mentions that the mayor assumed the commitment to remake the decree. “There are even recordings, which we can make available, of the Housing Secretary who went to the community and made this commitment in front of the residents”, he says.

He cites, even though, on January 24, the Municipal Attorney’s Office made a recommendation to proceed with the expropriation so that popular housing could be built. “The project, from the beginning, contemplated the idea that only 30% of the area would be for housing. This was the project approved at Cetesb [Companhia Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo], the strictest environmental agency in São Paulo, which takes care of springs.” The other 70% of the area will be a park.

However, Nunes assures that he did not make “any agreement with anyone, what he has is a correct definition of public policy: build housing, but not housing in the place where it was invaded and the Secretary of the Environment indicates that it is a place to be environmentally recovered ”.

According to the head of the local Executive, the Municipal Secretariat for the Green and the Environment presented a report suggesting an expropriation of the area for the construction of a park with the housing service of the population that is there.

“We are going to put them in the housing assistance queue so that they can be assisted with their housing. But that area where they wanted me to expropriate and pass it on to them, really has an interest for the city, for everyone, mine, yours, everyone’s, for us to be able to carry out this environmental preservation, even because it is an area close to the dam of Guarapiranga and there is no undone agreement”, he concluded.