Pimentel promises to bring "Vila Viva" to the entire state of Minas Gerais.
A project to urbanize favelas and build housing adopted in the city of Belo Horizonte by the gubernatorial candidate, Fernando Pimentel (PT), inspired the Minha Casa, Minha Vida program; this Sunday (13), in the Vila São José neighborhood, in Belo Horizonte, he promised that, if elected, he will take the program to the whole state; "These are the kinds of projects we want to encourage. I intend, if elected governor, to take it to the whole state, to support the municipalities, so that they have projects similar to this one," he said.
Mines 247 – The candidate from the Minas Pra Você Coalition for state government, Fernando Pimentel (PT), stated this Sunday (13), in the Vila São José neighborhood, in Belo Horizonte, that, if elected, he will take Vila Viva, a program for the urbanization of favelas, sanitation and construction of houses, to the entire state.
"These are the kinds of projects we want to encourage. If elected governor, I intend to take this to the entire state, supporting municipalities so they can have projects similar to this one. Today it's much easier than it was when I was mayor," he promised.
According to Pimentel, implementing projects like this is easier now because the federal government has robust sanitation and public housing construction programs. "Municipalities, with the support of the state government, can develop good projects, make good plans, obtain resources, and change people's lives for the better," he assured.
"I am very proud to see this project underway, a project that was thoroughly discussed with the community. A small municipality sometimes lacks the staff, and the state government can and should help it develop its projects and obtain federal resources. The Minas Gerais government has never been willing to do this; on the contrary, whenever it could, it hindered them," he added.
Alongside former mayor Patrus Ananias, Pimentel conceived and executed the project, first as secretary and later as mayor of the capital of Minas Gerais. "We started this project during Patrus Ananias' first term as mayor, and after a lot of struggle, we managed to secure the resources to execute it and completed the project during my last term with the support of former President Lula," he recalls.
In addition to Vila São José, the Vila Viva program brought basic services such as public transportation, treated water, sanitation, and garbage and sewage collection to the communities of Aglomerado da Serra, Taquaril, Morro das Pedras, and Pedreira Prado Lopes. More than 125 people benefited, representing 25% of the entire population of slums and favelas in Belo Horizonte.
Pimentel also recalled that the Vila Viva program inspired Minha Casa Minha Vida, the federal government's housing program. "Minha Casa Minha Vida originated here. Because when Lula came and saw the intervention we were making in Vila São José and Cafezal, he realized the importance of having a program with a large impact on the whole of Brazil," he pointed out.
Rogério Domingos, a resident of Vila São José, spoke about the impact Vila Viva had on his family's life. He has lived in the Northwest region for 50 years. "I'll tell you, the best thing they did was these buildings, it was very good. It boosted progress. People today already have cars, telephones, internet, pizza is delivered to their homes," said the retiree.
Due to its innovative nature and social reach, Vila Viva has attracted the attention of several cities in Brazil and abroad, earning it first place in the Metropolis Awards, a title granted every three years by the Metropolis Network in recognition of best public practices developed in cities with more than one million inhabitants.