Court prohibits expropriations on block that Tarcísio management is demolishing for its future headquarters

The government intends to demolish the properties to build its future headquarters in the Campos Elíseos neighborhood, in the central region of the capital of São Paulo.

The preliminary decision also prohibits the occupants of these properties from suffering any restrictions on their rights. The São Paulo Attorney General's Office said that, as of 7:20 pm this Monday, it had not been notified of the determination. The body is responsible for representing the state government in court.

Located on Alameda Barão de Piracicaba, two mansions in precarious condition, which for years functioned as guesthouses, are the target of resettlement actions promoted by CDHU, the São Paulo government's Housing and Urban Development Company. At the same time, the Public Treasury of the State of São Paulo, the Tarcísio management body responsible for state assets, is trying to obtain possession of the buildings in court.

Other buildings on the same block were taken over by the State after operations by the Public Prosecutor's Office showed that the locations operated as boarding houses exploited by organized crime. These properties were demolished last week.

The provisional decision prohibits actions with the aim of forcing evictions, after residents reported intimidation carried out by people who presented themselves as CDHU employees and by agents from Romu, a tactical group subordinate to the Municipal Guard under the administration of Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB). Representatives of both denied having carried out intimidating actions.

Resident of one of the mansions, chambermaid Simone de Fátima Ferreira, 54, received Folha this Monday in the room where she lives with her husband. At the door, Romu agents approached the reporter and requested identification. They then explained that they were not restricting access to the building.

In a statement, the Nunes administration stated that the Metropolitan Civil Guard carries out policing at the site, at the request of the CDHU, to prevent new occupations and guarantee safety for the completion of the work and the destination of the property.

Simone says that access control has been daily. She also claims to have received a call this Monday from a CDHU employee who demanded that she leave the room immediately.

When she received the call, the chambermaid was serving coffee at the hotel where she works. "They say they're going to wall it up, that they're going to close everything", reports Simone. "We have to rush out of work because there's a risk of people throwing our things in the street."

In a statement, the Tarcísio management confirmed the legal action to expropriate two properties in Alameda Barão de Piracicaba, numbers 153 and 165, but denied having adopted measures to force their occupants to leave.

The government says that, as of 2024, 65 families lived in the buildings. It also states that CDHU registered them all to receive housing assistance, in compliance with a judicial requirement so that the grant of ownership in favor of the State could be assessed.

Débora Ungaretti, researcher at the USP Removals Observatory, disputes the count reported by the State on the number of people served by CDHU. She states that there are at least eight families in the area that require housing.

According to the São Paulo management, however, CDHU teams arrived at the site this Monday to assist the last five registered families who were still in the buildings. This group left the properties voluntarily and will receive housing assistance until they are sent to permanent housing, according to the government.

According to the CDHU, there is no guidance for forced removal or taking people to the police station. The agency stated that, during the action this Monday, a group of people who did not participate in the previous registrations entered the properties.

Regarding housing assistance for Simone, the state company says that she is not in the housing program because she will receive a property from Cohab, the city hall's housing company.

The maid complains, however, that the apartment that will be allocated to her is not yet ready. To leave the occupation where she currently lives, Simone says she would need to receive from the State a supplement to the R$400 rental assistance she receives from the municipality.

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