Emicida: 'The workers are being held hostage here today'
Speaking at the event that replaced the concert at the MTST occupation in São Bernardo, the rapper said it was absurd that we still have to fight for the right to housing. "More than ever, it's necessary to sing," he quoted Caetano; read the report by Vitor Nuzzi on Rede Brasil Atual.
By Vitor Nuzzi, from Current Brazil Network
São Bernardo do Campo (SP) – Rapper Emicida was the last to speak at the political event that replaced the show scheduled to take place on Monday night (30), at the Povo Sem Medo Occupation, of the MTST, in São Bernardo do Campo, which brings together around 8 thousand families, according to the organizers. Because of a Judicial decision, the show that would reunite the singer and songwriter Caetano VelosoThe concert featuring rapper Emicida and singer Criolo could not take place. However, several artists were present to show solidarity with the movement, as were parliamentarians such as Rio de Janeiro state representative Marcelo Freixo (PSOL) and São Paulo city councilman Eduardo Suplicy (PT).
“The workers are being held hostage here today,” said Emicida. “I wanted to make a quick stop here in a less tense, less chaotic situation,” he added, highlighting the strength of the movement. “It’s a classic case of ‘worse problems, better people’”. He said he found the situation absurd, with people fighting for “a right that is written in the Constitution, which is a roof over their heads”.
“You are trying to straighten out this fucking society,” he stated. He also compared the occupation in São Bernardo to Pinheirinho, in São José dos Campos, in 2012, which resulted in an episode of violent eviction, but which drew society's attention to the struggle and the right to housing.
“This country is a powder keg and has already exploded several times,” Emicida stated, also criticizing those who prohibited the show from taking place on Monday. “Where is the courage to fight against someone who owes half a million?” he asked, referring to the amount that the construction company that owns the land allegedly owes in property taxes for the occupied area.
It is an area of approximately 60 square meters, unused for four decades. The entrance to the occupied area, through a ravine, is on a street practically opposite the main gate of the Scania factory. There, on May 12, 1978, the metalworkers began a strike that would spread to other companies and become a symbol of the resurgence of the labor movement and of protest against the authoritarian period.
Shortly before leaving, in a conversation with journalists, Caetano Veloso would recall the Ash Wednesday March, composed in 1963 by Carlos Lyra and Vinícius de Moraes: "And more than ever it is necessary to sing, because there are many difficulties."