By Amancio Ivan de Camargo Melo – OPINION
It is impressive how difficult it is for the various administrations of Foz do Iguaçu to resolve and reconcile the problems of its population. Governments come and go and none of them has the authority to decide what to do with the city's most trivial difficulties.
As incredible as it may seem, for more than 4 years, throughout the entire disastrous past administration, or rather, an attempt was made to build a school that was necessary for the population, but with the absurd demolition and
degradation of a square that had been consolidated for over 50 years, whose maintenance and conservation was paid for by the residents of its surroundings. We are talking about Praça das Aroeiras, located in Jardim Social.
This school was only not built due to the herculean resistance of the neighborhood's residents, who used all administrative and judicial means to stop the felling of more than 50 trees, including presenting 8 municipal plots of land with areas and distances compatible with the school's needs.
Despite the case still being sub-judice to this day, with an appeal to the Superior Court of Justice in Brasília, the previous administration dared, early on a rainy morning on December 7, 2023, starting at 06 am, to enter the area with tractors, chainsaws, two dozen brutes with axes – and even with the Municipal Guard apparatus, to, in a few hours, level almost all the forest that was planted and lovingly cared for by the population. Among the species, several of them are environmentally protected, such as brazilwood, ipês and araucarias. On top of that, with dubious origins of the authorization to cut by the IAT, an entity that we all know for the deforestation authorizations sold through corruption, as was widely reported, about two to three months ago, by the local press.
Immediately afterwards, the municipal administration issued a public notice for the construction of a school on the site of the destruction, and the company EDYCON won the first auction. The company ended up setting up shop on the site, but without starting the actual construction. It only did some unfinished earthworks and abandoned the construction site, which was full of rubble. It is said that the company went bankrupt, but apparently it abandoned the project due to legal uncertainty after learning of the aforementioned legal dispute.
Since then, two more calls for proposals have been issued, but both have been blocked by the TCE – PARANÁ STATE COURT OF AUDIT. The first was due to several irregularities and inconsistencies in the project, such as: delivery of a building with a smaller area than expected; failure to submit a soil analysis report; and the project was prepared by employees outsourced by the city government, who would not be held civilly or criminally liable for the projects in cases provided for by law. It should be noted that, given the deadline to correct the irregularities, the city government paid no attention to the TCE, launching a second call for proposals that was also, obviously, blocked again by the State Court of Accounts.
There is no doubt that these TCE restrictions greatly relieved the mood of the neighborhood residents, since they only had a few days left to get rid of Chico Brasileiro's incompetent management, since we were just 10 days away from the election that would finally change the city's mayor. In fact, an election in which, as far as we know, the vast majority of people interested in maintaining the square placed all their hopes in General Silva e Luna, a person known for being sensitive to listening to people and a defender of green areas. So much so that, upon taking office, he appointed Sérgio Caimmi as Secretary of the Environment, a person who had been fighting for the environmental cause for over 30 years. Caimmi, who was also a candidate for mayor in the same election that elected the General, and who in his electoral campaign made a video in the destroyed area of Praça das Aroeira, speaking vehemently for the prompt recovery of the square, if elected, with its immediate return to the caregiving actions of the residents, as had been happening before Chico's tragic destructive decision.
But now, after encouraging public announcements heard from General Silva e Luna himself and his education secretary, that it had been decided to restore the square and build the school in another location, residents were surprised yesterday, February 26.02.2025, 2.100, by a report broadcast by RPC, which heard the same education secretary who said: after a meeting with council members and the school community where the school interested in building in the square is currently operating, the city government is rethinking the matter and may go back on its decision and reconsider building in the square. In a nighttime meeting, just imagine! The Chico Brasileiro administration is doing just fine, refusing to receive residents in a hearing, throwing a petition signed by more than XNUMX residents in the trash. Not that the residents of Jardim Social wanted to participate in such a meeting at the school, never. But just to demonstrate how the dead of night works with people interested in changing a fair decision that has already been made, causing more confusion, adding fuel to the fire to a matter that has already been decided. One moment is one thing, another moment changes everything?
How could they change their minds if they visited the square and found that the area was only 6.000m2 (which is wrong: it is only 4.860m2), when they would need at least 10.000m2 for the new school?
Frankly, if this new situation is true, it will be clear that Foz do Iguaçu and its administrations really have no solution. It is very disappointing! One day it is one word, the next, everything changes. When the decision is made to change public policies with a new and experienced administrator, who comes from other cultures (assuming he is not contaminated by local politics), to lend his services to Foz do Iguaçu, as is the case with the General, who has positive examples in the leadership of Petrobrás and Itaipu, in addition to an exemplary military career, the population in general, but especially the residents of Jardim Social, who have invested everything they have in the change, do not welcome these types of attitudes.
Finally, it should be noted that the residents of the area around Praça das Aroeiras were never against the construction of the school, as some of the local media and the school community say. On the contrary, they support a new school for the students and teachers who have been miserably kept under the stands of the Pedro Basso stadium for over 20 years. But not in the square, but in another place that does not destroy what has already been done and benefits not only the people of Jardim Social, but so many other families who seek the place for their leisure time.
We cannot accept the tactic of pitting people against each other, in this case residents against people interested in the school, so often used in the nefarious political game we are already familiar with, that of divide and conquer. Long live the square! Long live a new and beautiful school on appropriate land! A school, in fact, not with just 6 classrooms as planned in the square, but with 15, 20, aiming at expansion through better education policies!
The residents just want the urgent return of the square area to help the municipality in its recovery. That's all!
Amâncio Ivan de Camargo Melo is a lawyer and resident of Jardim Social.
This text is the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of H2FOZ. If you want to share your opinion, send your article to the email portal@h2foz.com.br
How about residents get together and plant several tree seedlings throughout the already degraded area to draw the attention not only of residents, but of all of Brazil, demonstrating the lack of environmental concern of public managers.
They prefer a small school in the square instead of a large school in the same region, full-time, with more places for children, benefiting more families.
They are fighting for a small school and the destruction of trees in this Foz heat.
Is this about voting? Being in a tight spot? Mediocre politics? Just plain stupidity?
I remember this square well in 2016. I always visited it, it was always looked after by the residents and was abandoned by the government. I hope that this year they will finally resolve this situation and that the square will be established and listed as a public place, along with the restoration of the trees that lived there, which were cut down by the villainy of a certain mayor.