An occupation is a stretch of land that many Brazilian families have set up tents on due to their inability to pay for housing.
In Sao Paulo especially, these families are hoping to pressure their government into building more low-income housing so that they can move out of these “squatter towns” and have a place of their own.
Brazil has been in an economic crisis since 2015 as they had a big budget deficit that their former president, Ms Rousseff, tried to cover up. However, once this information was uncovered, she was put on trial to be impeached and Brazil continued to decline economically and politically.
They are currently in an economic period of recession and their unemployment rate is still high- it is roughly 12.4% and 13 million are unemployed. The article mentioned that many individuals are forced to take jobs that supply little to no money and health precautions in order to provide for their families. Relating this back to the occupation in Sao Paulo, which is the wealthiest city in South America, the people living on this occupation are facing the threat of eviction as the lot they are trespassing on belongs to a construction company.
However the government has informed these families that it is willing to negotiate. Whatever occurs, many individuals in these occupations have taken a firm stance in their desire to keep their rights, which in their constitution gives them the right to “housing, decent healthcare, [and] education” (Andreia Barbosa, Aljazeera article).
It is evident that the Brazilian Government must do something in regards to this housing crisis as many citizens are being denied their basic rights. After all, their next election, which is in 2018, may result in the current party losing power. However, due to the demand for low-income housing being greater than the supply, the economy may grow slightly as those who can pay the prices required to own a home will. It will be interesting to see how the government tackles this overwhelming issue.