We republish below an unofficial translation of the following article from the Brazilian New Democratic newspaper A Nova Democracia (AND), originally published on November 12, 2024 and updated on November 13.
by Local Correspondent – Brazil Federal District (DF)
Eighty families who had been occupying an abandoned building for 7 years in the Graphic Industries Sector (SIG), in downtown Brazil, were evicted due to a request for repossession. The families occupied the building on November 9th. The occupation included several people who had been waiting in line with the Housing Development Company of the Federal District (CODHAB) for over 25 years and remain homeless.
Due to the repossession, ordered on Sunday by the on-call judge Roberval Belinati of the Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories (TJDFT), the occupants were under a police siege since late Monday afternoon (November 11th) that prevented the entry of water, food and diapers for the children.
Students and activists were present in front of the occupation since Monday afternoon and spent the night in support of the families there. The AND Support Committee was also present at the site throughout the early hours of the morning.
The siege intensified around 5 p.m. on Monday, when the Federal District Military Police (PMDF) surrounded the area with fences to prevent supporters from accessing the occupation and delivering food and personal hygiene items. Since then, students and activists have gathered in front of the siege and spent the night supporting the families there. The AND Support Committee was also present at the site throughout the night and into the early morning.
During the early hours of the morning, David Borges dos Santos, a student at the University of Brasília, in solidarity with the families, tried to deliver the supplies, but was met with punches and kicks by the PMDF.
Faced with the unjust attacks, the students and activists present tried to help David, at which point they were threatened with arrest, with stun grenades thrown at the students. AND’s local correspondent was threatened with arrest, but this did not happen due to the general mobilization and the presence of popular lawyers at the scene.
