Doria's secretary says the cultural festival changed to avoid people from the outskirts of the city.
Fabio Santos, who will be the Secretary of Communication for João Doria's administration, stated that one of the reasons the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) government is moving part of the Virada Cultural (Cultural Turnaround) to the Interlagos racetrack is "the crowd that comes from the periphery"; "At the Virada, what ends up happening—excuse my bluntness—is that you have a crowd that comes from the periphery, some organized to do this. You must have seen at some points those raids they do on the side streets that connect Praça da República to Viaduto do Chá," he said, in a way assuming a policy of social cleansing.
247 - Fabio Santos, who will be the Secretary of Communication for João Doria's administration, stated that one of the reasons the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) government is moving part of the Virada Cultural (Cultural Turnaround) to the Interlagos racetrack is "the crowd that comes from the outskirts of the city."
"During Virada Cultural, what ends up happening—forgive my bluntness—is that you have a group of people coming from the outskirts of the city, some organized to do this. You must have seen at some point those raids they carry out on the side streets that connect Praça da República to Viaduto do Chá," he said.
He says that "the problem with Virada Cultural is that the Military Police don't have the capacity to control the access points [to the attractions], which are very varied."
On Tuesday morning, filmmaker André Sturm, who will assume the position of Secretary of Culture in Doria's administration, stated that "the Virada Cultural will not end; it will improve." Sturm also said that Interlagos will be just one of the locations and that activities will continue in the city center.
"Instead of eight or ten mega-stages that attract a crowd that wanders around the city center, there will be large shows in Interlagos, with more comfort, security, a food area, restrooms, and even a sleeping area, if people want," he stated.
His statements, however, contradicted what Doria had announced on Monday (5). During an event at Fecomércio, the mayor-elect stated that the Virada Cultural will be moved "to a single location and it will not be in the city center".
"We are going to make the Virada Cultural happen in Interlagos, 24 hours a day, with security, transportation, comfort, and without the disruptions that, unfortunately, due to its size, it brings. It will maintain all the good things it has always had, without the bad aspects in Interlagos," said Doria.