Federal deputy Professor Luciene Cavalcante (PSOL-SP) filed three letters requesting the monitoring of children and adolescents between zero and 17 years of age who are homeless in the city of São Paulo. The requests were made after the deputy mayor of Sé, Alvaro Batista Camilo (PSD), better known as Colonel Camilo, signaled that the City Hall could use chemical ammunition to resolve the issue of Cracolândia.
The requests were sent to the head of the National Secretariat for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (SNDCA), of the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, Ariel de Castro Alves; the Center for Childhood and Youth of the Public Defender of the State of São Paulo; and the president of the Municipal Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CMDCA), Esequias Marcelino da Silva Filho.
In the document, the congresswoman states that despite the extreme situation of vulnerability, the deputy mayor of Sé, a region that concentrates a large number of children and adolescents living on the streets, “stated that the time will come to use chemical weapons against the population in a situation homeless people” and that “it will once again forcibly collect tents and belongings from homeless people in the region”, in an interview with Metropolises.
Luciene Cavalcante / São Paulo City Council
In view of the statement, Cavalcante believes that “the risk situation these children and adolescents are in is clear, in addition to being on the streets, they are victims of coercive actions by the State”.
“I ask this body for information regarding what measures are being taken to help families living on the streets and monitor babies, children and adolescents, especially those under 06 years of age, in the city of São Paulo and in its central region. As appropriate, I ask this body to visit the site in the central region of the city of São Paulo to investigate the facts narrated”, he said in the letters.
In an interview with Brazil in factCavalcante stated that “the public policies of Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) regarding our homeless children and adolescents in the city of São Paulo are extremely worrying”.
“Children and adolescents are living on the streets, suffering all the violations of their fundamental rights. The city of São Paulo has billions in cash. But, unfortunately, these resources are not available to our population. This money is not being used to safeguard the rights of our babies, our children and our adolescents.”
“That’s why we call on the Ministry of Justice, the Public Defender’s Office and the National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents so that appropriate measures are taken, including taking steps in the Sé district”, he said.
In the interview with metropolisesin early February of this year, the deputy mayor of Sé stated that most people in the Cracolândia region “no longer have the conditions to understand what is right and what is wrong, but it is also necessary to think about residents and traders”.
Colonel Alvaro Batista Camilo, Deputy Mayor of Sé / Reproduction/Social Networks
“Often, drug addicts are not aggressive, but just their presence – walking around, looking for drugs – scares people and the perception of safety is undermined. The idea is to work intelligently to prevent it from reaching the point of occupying the territory. Will there come a time when you need to use chemical ammo? Go. Often manipulated by drug dealers, they (users) end up facing the government and then you have no other choice. It’s not my responsibility in the Subprefecture. My suggestion is that this happens as a last resort”, said the deputy mayor at the time.
Increase in children and teenagers on the streets
In July last year, the Census of Homeless Children and Adolescents, carried out by the São Paulo City Hall, indicated an increase in the number of homeless children and adolescents from 1,842 to 3,759 over a period of 15 years. The last survey was carried out in 2007.
The three regions that most concentrate these data are in the central area of the municipality: República (309), Sé (202) and Santa Cecília (196). Of the total, 16.2% are in Institutional Sheltering Services for Children and Adolescents (Saica) and in Special Welfare Centers for Families, but 10.7% spend the night on the streets.
Regarding the population profile, 42% of children and adolescents are between 12 and 17 years old, followed by those aged up to six years (30.6%) and those between 7 and 11 years old (27.1%). The majority is also black: 43% self-declared brown and 28.6% black. Only 21.6% declared themselves white. Males also prevail: 59.2%.
Other side
O Brazil in fact contacted the press office of the Subprefeitura da Sé and the Prefecture of São Paulo to find out if there is a position both in relation to the official letters filed by federal deputy Luciene Cavalcante and the statements of submayor Alvaro Batista Camilo. So far, however, there has not been a return. The space remains open for speeches.
Editing: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
