Court bans 'rolezinhos' this weekend in São Paulo.
Judge Rômolo Russo, of the 11th Chamber of Private Law of the Court of Justice of São Paulo, says that there is no legal impediment against the movement, but acknowledges that shopping malls do not have the infrastructure to accommodate crowds; the lawsuit refers to the gatherings scheduled at Aricanduva and Mauá Plaza.
By Gabriel Mandel
Counsel - The right to come and go of those participating in a "rolezinho" (a large gathering of young people in shopping malls) clashes with the right to come and go of those who frequent the mall but do not participate in the event. While it is legitimate for the event to occur, it is illegitimate for other citizens to be forced to retreat and have their freedom of movement restricted because of it. Thus, "the exaggerated and disproportionate exercise of this desire to go in large numbers, at the same time" to the same shopping mall "ends up annihilating the right to come and go of others, which amounts to an abusive exercise of the right to 'rolê' (a casual gathering)." Based on this understanding, Judge Rômolo Russo, of the 11th Chamber of Private Law of the Court of Justice of São Paulo, restricted the "rolezinhos" scheduled for this weekend at the Aricanduva and Mauá Plaza shopping malls.
The judge granted a preliminary injunction in the Prohibitory Injunction filed by the Brazilian Association of Shopkeepers (Alshop) to prevent gatherings in the two shopping centers and in the Penha and Taboão malls on February 1, 2, 5, 8, and 15. In analyzing the action, Judge Russo stated that "hanging out" in the mall is not a new phenomenon, and the main difference between past events and current practices lies in the material and social dimensions of the acts. However, guaranteeing the rights of some necessarily involves the coexistence of rights and the consequent guarantee of the rights of the other party, the judge said.
He cited Article 5, item XVI, of the Constitution as justification for the legality of the gathering, since "the constitutional right to peaceful assembly embodies a natural right and, therefore, is inherent to the very condition of the human person. Man will always gather with others, and so it will be." However, Russo said that summoning a large number of people to arrive and circulate together through the shopping mall harms the rights of other visitors, including consumers and shopkeepers. This, in his view, "compromises the reasonableness of such an excessive exercise." The rights of the two groups to come and go, as stated in the injunction, then clash.
"The legitimacy of young people's right to assemble is recognized, but not through crowds and mass movements inside shopping malls," he stated.
According to him, shopping malls do not have sufficient infrastructure to accommodate such a large contingent at once, with few emergency exits and escape routes, which increases the risk of a tragedy. For these reasons, Rômolo Russo pointed out that holding the event in a shopping center is not feasible, to avoid a situation similar to that of the Kiss nightclub fire in Santa Maria (RS) a year ago, and that the "rolezinho" should take place in "public squares and parks, at the Sambadrome, possibly in shopping mall parking lots, maybe at Anhembi".
Finally, he granted the injunction to restrict events at the Aricanduva and Mauá Plaza shopping centers, understanding that the mall is a "clearly unsuitable place for crowd gatherings," but acknowledged that the act is legal. Rômolo Russo also stated that shopping centers cannot bar the individual entry of young people and adolescents without any distinction or pre-selection that constitutes discriminatory judgment. Deeming the request inopportune, he did not analyze the demands related to the gatherings on February 5th, 8th, and 15th.