Without believing in the game of passing the buck and the promises of the political environment, the community sees the solution in its own strength and in the action of Justice.
Those who build a shack to live in amidst all the uncertainties and precariousness of the future have hope as an intrinsic feeling. That is why anguish and expectation may be the most appropriate terms to describe the moment of the residents of the Bubas Occupation, who demand that the government immediately regularize the land tenure of the area in which they live.
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The occupation is nine years old, with the first lots and shacks installed on January 5, 2013, according to the rescue carried out by the board of the Bubas Residents Association (Amobuba). Even with the police presence, within 48 hours there were already hundreds of people. In its documents, the courts consider the 13th as the “birth day” of the village.
In the 40-hectare area, located in the Greater Porto Meira area, in the southern region of Foz do Iguaçu, there are 1,8 families and homes registered by the association, which estimates that it corresponds to more than ten thousand people, and is considered the largest urban settlement in Paraná. In order for residents to have access to public services such as schools, health, banks and social security, the organization issues a proof of residence.
In addition to the fragility of the housing, residents face the hardships of a lack of infrastructure, such as dirt roads, lack of sanitation and electricity that is constantly cut off by the community itself. The lack of employment is also a problem that afflicts many families who have no other choice but to work informally.
“But what we really want now is land regularization,” emphasizes the president of Amobuba, Maria Lúcia Batista. “Our right to housing has already been recognized by the courts, and no one is leaving. The city and state must do their part and stop pushing responsibility. There is a lack of political interest,” says Maria.
The community leader is betting on the strength of the community and the action of the Justice Department to regularize the Bubas Occupation. She recalls the recent public hearing on the subject, held by the Legislative Assembly of Paraná (Alep), in which different public actors pledged support, as well as the Legal Housing program, of the Court of Justice of Paraná (TJPR).
“The Court of Justice has already decided that the heirs of the former owner of the area should be compensated. The city government and the state government still need to reach an agreement,” emphasizes the vice president of Amobuba, Ronaldo Soares. “We are confident that with the action of the judges [of the TJPR] and the unity of the residents, we will achieve regularization,” he emphasizes.
The city government argues that the regularization should be carried out by the Judiciary to begin urban improvements in the occupation, and that the compensation to the heirs should be paid for by the State Government. The state administration wants the municipality to contribute to the compensation.
The Court of Justice maintains that the Moradia Legal program is an instrument capable of achieving land regularization in a short period of time, as is already happening in other locations. However, for its implementation, it is necessary for the government to signal the payment of compensation provided for in the legal process.
City Hall, state and TJ gathered together
Absent from the public hearing held by the Alep on the land regularization of the Bubas Occupation in October – having been represented by secretaries –, Mayor Chico Brasileiro met last month with Governor Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior and judges from the TJPR. On the agenda was the ownership of the properties through the Justice Department's Moradia Legal program.
“The objective was precisely to bring together the Judiciary to find the best way to work on regularizing the properties of families living in Bubas,” said Chico Brasileiro, through the Municipal News Agency. According to the mayor, the governor expressed interest in regularizing the properties.
Loan of R$ 500
Upon returning to Foz do Iguaçu from Santa Catarina, where she had gone in search of work, Judite Simões de Góes went to live in Ocupação Bubas in 2014. She took out a R$500 loan from her father to build her simple wooden house, which she paid back in installments. At the time, she says, the number of residents was smaller.
Unemployed after losing her last job as a lunch lady at the end of last year, Judite lives with her teenage son and husband, and has on the tip of her tongue what is most urgent for the community: regularization. “The government is disregarding us, because this could have been resolved already,” she says.
She says she likes living in Bubas and claims that the community is united, supportive and organized. “This is my place, even though my little house is simple and full of leaks,” she emphasizes, explaining that she received used roof tiles after the damage to her house in the storm of September 7, 2015, which damaged the houses in the occupation.
“Life from scratch”
In 2015, Francisco Severino da Costa left Ceará for Foz do Iguaçu in search of better opportunities. He moved through several neighborhoods until settling in Bubas, where he lived in a cramped and precarious home, which he shared with his small business. The house only had a bed, stove, TV and refrigerator; the store sold basic groceries and dry goods.
The grocery store grew, its structure was expanded and today it has a wide variety of products. The merchant, known in the community as “Ceará”, was able to buy a house behind the store, “on installments”, he says. “It was a lot of struggle and work during that time. But I would only go back to Ceará for pleasure”, he says.
“Here, we started life from scratch, leaving everything behind. It was cold. We had to save water even to take a shower every day,” he recalls. “In Bubas, we work and earn a living for our families, and we believe that things will get even better for all the residents,” Francisco predicts.
Background
In mid-2014, members of the Popular School of City Planning – students and professors affiliated with the Federal University for Latin American Integration (UNILA) – and the Popular Brigades developed activities together with the community. Among the organizational work, street names and house numbers were defined, as well as registrations and other initiatives.
In 2017, Judge Rogério Vidal Cunha, from the Foz do Iguaçu Public Treasury, denied the injunction in favor of the repossession of the occupation, preventing the removal of the residents. At the time, the judge stated that removing the families “would completely nullify their fundamental human right to housing,” he ruled. The TJPR later upheld the decision.
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