Protesters vacate City Hall building.

Activists from the Occupy Estelita movement, opposed to the demolition of the warehouses at Cais José Estelita, in the São José neighborhood, to make way for a residential and commercial real estate complex, complied with the court order and withdrew from the Recife City Hall (PCR); the protesters, who had been camped in the building's lobby, had been there for more than 24 hours and were demanding to be seen by Mayor Geraldo Julio (PSB); after leaving, the group held a protest in front of the PCR and intends to march to Cais.

July 01, 2014, 20:32 pmUpdated May 27, 2019, 08:12 AM

Activists from the Occupy Estelita movement, opposed to the demolition of the warehouses at Cais José Estelita, in the São José neighborhood, to make way for a residential and commercial real estate complex, complied with the court order and withdrew from the Recife City Hall (PCR); the protesters, who had been camped in the building's lobby, had been there for more than 24 hours and were demanding to be seen by Mayor Geraldo Julio (PSB); after leaving, the group held a protest in front of the PCR and intends to march to Cais. (Photo: Paulo Emílio)

Pernambuco 247 - Activists from the Occupy Estelita movement, opposed to the demolition of the warehouses at Cais José Estelita, in the São José neighborhood, to make way for a residential and commercial real estate complex, complied with the court order and withdrew from the Recife City Hall (PCR). The protesters, who had been camped in the building's lobby, had been there for more than 24 hours and were demanding a meeting with Mayor Geraldo Julio (PSB). After leaving the premises, the group held a protest in front of the PCR and intends to march to Cais José Estelita.

The eviction was carried out after the Municipal Secretary of Urban Security, Murilo Cavalcanti, read a note sent to the press, where the PCR spoke about the negotiation initiatives on the part of Ocupe Estelita. During the talks held between the parties, on Monday night (30), the protesters had asked for time so that the eviction could be carried out peacefully, without the presence of the Military Police. The deadline expired on Tuesday, at 14 pm.

After the time requested by the protesters ended, the Recife City Hall asked the Public Ministry of Pernambuco (MPPE) to appoint a representative to vacate the activists at any time. After the protest, a meeting was agreed between the Recife City Hall and the representatives of Ocupe Estelita this Wednesday (2), at 15 pm. A public hearing to discuss the real estate project, named Novo Recife, is scheduled for the 17th.

The protest is against the construction of 12 commercial and residential buildings, ranging in height from 21 to 40 stories, in the area where the warehouses are located. On May 21st, the protesters occupied the land shortly after the start of the demolitions. On June 5th, the Novo Recife consortium, responsible for the project, had agreed to redesign the project, provided that the occupation ended immediately.

With the protesters refusing to leave the land without a guarantee that the agreement would be respected, the repossession order issued at the end of May was used on the 17th, when the Military Police cleared the land. After being removed from the site, the activists headed to under the Capitão Temudo Viaduct, in the North Zone of Recife, where they founded what they call "Vila Estelita".