In the whole territory of Rio de Janeiro, there are more than 717,000 residences situated in regions where there are limits on occupancy and failure to provide utilities such as treated water supply, electricity, sewage disposal and rubbish collection.
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| [Rio de Janeiro] |
It's not a surprise that Rio de Janeiro's hilly area has been devastated by hurricanes in the past. In 2011, 918 people lost their lives as a consequence of what many believe to be the country's worst climatic calamity. Victims in Petrópolis, Teresópolis, and Friburgo were more numerous than in other cities. We're still counting the flood casualties a decade later, and the death toll has risen to almost 200 since the 15th. Nothing has been done to ensure that environmental catastrophes can be dealt with in an appropriate manner. How long have we been ignoring the need of risk management and how much political will does it take for us to take action on this issue?
Subnormal agglomerations account for the majority of homes in Rio de Janeiro, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. More than 717,000 homes in Rio de Janeiro's total territory are situated in regions where occupants are restricted and amenities including as water, electricity, sewage disposal, and rubbish collection are not provided. We're looking at data from the IBGE from 2020, the year the demographic census was supposed to be completed and the year the COVID-19 epidemic began, which has since dragged on till today.
Slums, mocambos, caverns, mocambo homes and communities are all examples of people living in squalor. The name varies from place to place. No one knows for sure how many people without property titles live in these locations, hidden from the gaze of those who should be able to care for their basic human needs, since our own laws don't require a demographic census.
Somebody needs to watch out for us, I heard the uncontrolled cry of a survivor in Petrópolis after he lost family, his home, and his faith in the future. In the aftermath of the flood, what good is it to be alive? This is a slur, is the response.
Why is there a dearth of support for the needy if the Federal Constitution guarantees that housing, security, education, health, food, job, transportation, and leisure are social rights? The issue is now mine to decide.
There are rules and set obligations, but the calamity of the previous administrations of our state continues as if nothing more could be done, as if we could sleep resigned because the sorrow belongs to the other, the poor, the black, the marginalised. Authorities have obligations. We must ensure that they are cared for in a way that promotes the social justice that they so urgently need to be satisfied.