Lack of land and election increase the wait for a house in RS – 09/30/2024 – Market

Under the incessant rain that fell at the beginning of September, Caetano Giovanella, 67, used a sledgehammer to break out the solid bricks purchased second-hand and that formed his scrapyard in Passo de Estrela, Cruzeiro do Sul neighborhood (123 km from Porto). Alegre) reduced to rubble in the flood of May 2024.

His hope is, for the second time, to reuse the material to build a new house and finally leave the twisted shed that serves as temporary shelter for him and his animals — a goat, six dogs and countless cats that appear at night in search of food. But the essential thing is missing: a safe place to build your home.

Five months after the biggest tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul, Caetano’s wait is a mirror of the situation of many other gauchos who still do not have a new home. For many, the wait has been going on for longer: a flood in the Taquari Valley carried away the first houses in September 2023.

Hampered by bureaucracy and challenged by the scale of the catastrophe, governments have still not been able to provide an effective response to the housing problem, the solution of which is hampered by the lack of safe land, the time taken for construction work and the slowness caused by the electoral period.

Until the beginning of September, the federal government had delivered only 9 houses through assisted purchase and a further 367 contracted before the catastrophes, but which benefited affected families. Another 102 temporary homes were installed by the state government.

These are tiny numbers compared to the 10,700 homes destroyed and 190,000 damaged since September 2023, according to data reported by municipalities and recognized by the National Civil Defense.

“We still hope that politicians will do something. If they can at least get the land for us to rebuild again, in a safer place… because there’s no way we can go through this again,” said Caetano, who also lost his house two-story building and memories of the 60 years lived in the same neighborhood.

“I know it’s going to take a little longer. We’ll wait. One day it will work. What to do?”, he said, with a shy and resigned laugh.

The lack of land outside the flooded area is a problem especially in smaller cities, such as Muçum, Roca Sales and Cruzeiro do Sul, in the Taquari Valley. There, the limited supply of ready-made properties also makes a more agile response with assisted purchase unfeasible.

Even when land is available, the site often requires prior preparation, with earthworks, sanitation and lighting. The construction of Minha Casa, Minha Vida units takes at least a year: two to three months to approve the project and ten to 14 months to carry out the work.

The government of Rio Grande do Sul contracted pre-cast steel buildings, which take less time (90 days) to complete. Even so, the state expects to deliver around 200 units this year and another 2,500 in the first half of next year.

“We know that 200 permanent homes seems little, but there are other associated policies”, he told Sheet the state Secretary of Planning, Danielle Calazans. According to her, the state did not have a robust housing policy before the tragedy and needed to structure actions such as social rent and temporary homes.

The government of Rio Grande do Sul also took over the execution of part of the earthmoving and sanitation works, even to overcome difficulties faced by city halls. The biggest strength, however, is in federal programs, said the secretary.

“The electoral process is quite disruptive. There is insecurity. The mayor has to invest in that land, sometimes he has to expropriate it, and then there is recourse from the municipality. So, there is certainly a slowdown in the pace,” he said.

Minister Paulo Pimenta (Secom), who for four months headed the Extraordinary Ministry of Support for Reconstruction of Rio Grande do Sul, assessed the Sheet that the delivery of houses comes up against bureaucracy and the operational bottleneck of city halls, especially the smaller ones.

“There are 22 schools committed [com recursos liberados] in Vale do Taquari since last year, and no city hall has managed to start the work so far”, he said. In the houses, he notices the same difficulty. “The bureaucracy of the Brazilian State is heartbreaking.”

To try to unlock housing, the federal government relaxed the rules and allowed the private sector itself to locate land and present projects within the Minha Casa, Minha Vida criteria.

The government is also preparing joint efforts for assisted purchasing. The assessment is that there is a lack of knowledge among families, despite almost 2,000 properties ready. According to the Ministry of Cities, 773 families are already qualified and another 594 should be called up soon.

In the first joint effort, held from September 24th to 26th, more than 40 families completed the purchase of the property.

While the permanent houses are not available, the government of Rio Grande do Sul intends to expand the temporary houses. The objective is to provide more dignity to the more than 2,200 people who still live in the 50 shelters in operation — some of them since last year.

Truck driver Paulo Vargas da Silva, 64, spent four months in a shelter in Cruzeiro do Sul until he was able to move with his partner to one of the 28 temporary homes installed in the city at the beginning of September. He lived in Vila Zwirtes, next to Passo de Estrela. From the old house, he only managed to save documents and a television.

“We had nowhere to sleep. A colleague found a small mattress. I found an old blanket to cover myself at night, as it was cold”, he recalled, emotionally. “The first night was suffocating.”

Stocked with donations and provided with a temporary home already equipped with essential furniture and appliances, he said he was happy with the move. “We are in heaven.”

On the other hand, Paulo regretted that other families in the shelter have not yet had the same opportunity. While they dream of such an outcome, they are faced daily with the display of what is not yet within their reach — the first temporary homes were installed outside the gymnasium that serves as their shelter.

The installation of another 50 units in Cruzeiro do Sul still depends on the location of a safe area.

Eldorado do Sul, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, would also receive temporary homes, but the requirement for an area outside the flooding area created an impasse, as practically the entire city was underwater in May. Only one location met the requirements: the so-called Parque Eldorado, in the rural area, almost 40 km from the city center. The option was rejected by families and the city hall.

“I don’t see a solution to solve this problem. If anyone says it’s immediate, they’re talking nonsense,” said the mayor of Eldorado do Sul, Ernani de Freitas.

According to him, the homeless are receiving social rent while they wait for their permanent homes to be delivered. In parallel, the city hall seeks to raise awareness among the state and federal governments to build a dike that protects the central region of the municipality.