Today we begin an extreme act so that, in the future, extreme acts needn’t be longer taken. In this exact moment, over 800 homeless workers’ families are anguished at not knowing whether they’ll wake up to live one more day of their suffered lives in their humble tents, or else will be evicted, due to the insensibility of those who can do everything but do nothing really. The Chico Mendes community is an example of dignity and hope; the eviction of these dreams is criminal. During the 80 days that lasted the occupation in Taboão da Serra, these militants have organized themselves to demand the fundamental right to housing – which has always been denied to the poor people of this country –, and have thereby built a new social horizon for themselves and their kids. In our battle rests the hope of over 6 million Brazilian families that live in underprivileged conditions. We hereby appeal to the president Luís Inácio Lula da Silva – and not only to him, for we understand that all spheres of government have the power needed to hinder this tragedy.
We know that, by means of governmental decrees set by any sphere – local (dr. Evilásio), state (Alckmin) or federal – the dispossession of the site is possible. This particular plot of land, like others in Brazil, didn’t have any social use and contracted great debts of non-paid taxes. They say that to occupy, it is a crime, and that’s the way they treat us: just like criminals. But they say nothing about the elite that criminally evade millions in taxes, millions that could represent at least a partial solution to the housing problem, avoiding hundreds of violent evictions that lay on the streets, everyday, whole families. If we pay high rents, it remains us no money to make end’s meat. To us, poor people, there were given few and harsh options: to have a house or to eat. However, with our daily fight for live, we’ve given ourselves another one: to fight or to suffer. In spite of numerous meetings with the authorities and promises, our situation wasn’t altered a bit. Today we are conscientious that we’ve got only our own forces on which we can count, and it is in the condition of an autonomous movement that we stand out. We haven’t got any bond with political parties; we’ve got only one dream, a dream of dignity and better life conditions.
In so being, in the name of our families and for the remembrance of forgotten rights of thousands, we’ve decided to begin a hunger strike. We acknowledge the gravity of our decision. However, we haven’t got any other alternative. Many were the rallies, the meetings, and no answers whatsoever were gave by the authorities, none besides the absolute lack of political concern. They ignore us for we’ve got nothing, they don’t hear us for we are poor. That’s why, as Christmas gets closer and closer, when everyone parties and remembers the birth of Jesus, we’re here to say that we’ve got nothing to be happy about, nothing to commemorate. We stand for the children that will dream their Christmas dreams on the streets, and for our comrades that, in the name of many, will sacrifice themselves at this time.
In that sense, we demand:
- a meeting to which will attend the governments (City, State, Federal), represented by people who can actually solve our problem;
- the dispossession of the land we’ve occupied and the construction of popular houses for the 800 families of Chico Mendes community.
These were our claims. Today we demand them.