RS deputy is attacked during demonstration in Porto Alegre

Violence

City Hall will open an administrative procedure to investigate the action of the Municipal Guard

The state deputy and president of the Citizenship and Human Rights Commission of the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul, Laura Sito (PT), was attacked by municipal guards with pepper spray and rubber bullets in a demonstration, on Saturday (16), at the intersection of Senhor dos Passos and Andrada streets, the historic center of the capital of Rio Grande do Sul.

There is a Porto Alegre City Hall building at the site that is claimed by social movements. The city’s National Movement for Housing says that the property was transferred to the City Hall “for cultural purposes” by Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF). The group states that “the place was emptied with the promise that it would be renovated and they would return. The promise was not fulfilled and the building is on the municipality’s list of properties that will be auctioned.”

Porto Alegre City Hall says that the building was invaded in the early hours of Saturday, when news of the auction became public. The episode began an “initial round of negotiations with the invading group in order to recover the property”.

The note released by the administration says that, given the repercussion of the case, Mayor Sebastião Melo (MDB) gave up selling the building and agreed to allocate it for social housing programs. “It was agreed that no new protesters will enter, food deliveries are guaranteed at previously agreed times and the building will remain isolated and monitored by the Municipal Guard and Military Brigade”, says the City Hall.

According to what Laura Sito published on her social networks, Saturday’s conflict began because supporters of the movement tried to enter the building with food, but were blocked by municipal guards. In the videos published by the parliamentarian, it is possible to see attacks with pepper spray. She filed a police report and released images of her leg hit by rubber bullets.

The deputy states that, when she was registering a police report, she received a call from Melo informing her that the sale of the building had been withdrawn. In 2020, the mayor won the elections in the second round against former presidential candidate Manuela DÁvila (PCdoB).

The City Hall also said that it will open an administrative procedure to investigate the Municipal Guard’s action in the case and the body’s commander, Marcelo Nascimento, said that this Saturday’s approach “departs from the normality of the corporation’s actions”.

The city of Porto Alegre recently made national headlines because of the creation of the Patriot’s Day holiday, whose chosen date was January 8th – when protesters invaded and vandalized the headquarters of the Three Powers in Brasília. Faced with the negative repercussions, councilors came together and revoked the holiday.

*With information from Correio Braziliense

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