Kostcho sees danger in the judicialization of life.
According to the columnist, after the "politicization of the Judiciary," it's now the turn of the "judicialization of everyday life"; he gives the example of the "rolezinho" (a large gathering of young people in shopping malls): "instead of reinforcing the private security of their property, merchants immediately resorted to the courts, which had no doubts: they granted an injunction to prevent these young people from having free access to shopping malls, starting last weekend."
247 - On his blog, Ricardo Kotscho He warns of what he calls the risk of the "judicialization of everyday life." He cites as an example the case of the "rolezinho" (a large gathering of young people in shopping malls) in São Paulo, where the courts prevented young people from having free access to shopping malls. Read more:
The dangers of the judicialization of everyday life.
With the weakening of the Legislative branch, political parties, and political, union, and business leaders, the Judiciary gradually filled the void to regulate national life in a process that reached its peak last year during the Mensalão trial, in which existing laws became merely a detail.
Allied with the large family-owned press, which was once called the "Fourth Estate," and later tried to be the first and only one, the Judiciary is suffering from an attack of hypertrophy that is today the greatest threat to Brazil's young democracy and is becoming increasingly present in all sectors of national life.
After the "politicization of the Judiciary," it's now the turn of the "judicialization of everyday life," as we've seen in several recent events where, for whatever reason, societal disputes are referred to judges to decide what is permissible and what is not, what is right and what is wrong.
Here in São Paulo, the most recent example is what's happening with the so-called "rolezinho," a demonstration by young people from the outskirts of the city who stage escapades in shopping malls with the sole purpose of scaring and disrupting shoppers at these large centers of luxury goods that are beyond their reach.
And what did the owners of these shopping centers do? Instead of reinforcing the private security of their property, they immediately resorted to the courts, which had no doubts: they granted an injunction to prevent these young people from having free access to the malls, starting last weekend.
Mostly black and underage, these dispossessed children from the outskirts of the city now need to show identification, their backpacks are searched, and their personal information is noted by military police and court officials, summoned in large numbers to guarantee the peace of merchants and consumers. Everyone is shown a copy of the court order stating that if they cause trouble they will be fined R$ 10.
Aside from the absurdity of the fine, certainly greater than the annual income of most of these young people, the Justice system simply decreed a social apartheid, affronting the sacred right to come and go for a part of the population. "The lieutenant in charge of the operation found nothing illegal in the young people's belongings," reports Vanessa Barbara, a columnist for Folha, who was at the Metrô Itaquera shopping mall on Saturday.
Even so, ten young people were summoned to appear in court to explain their participation in the "rolezinho" (a large gathering of young people in shopping malls) and now risk having to pay the R$ 10 fine that the judges established.
Reporter's account: "I didn't see anyone with weapons, no one stealing, vandalizing, or causing a mass robbery," which doesn't stop them from being treated as vagrants who are going to cause trouble, commit crimes, and scare decent people. "They are treated as such by the authorities: walking down the corridor, a policeman kept repeating in everyone's ear: 'I'm going to beat you up, I'm going to beat you up,' and smack, he kicked a boy."
The injunction granted by the court in Itaquera also benefits the JK Iguatemi shopping mall, the largest luxury sanctuary in São Paulo, and Campo Limpo, but surely others will also request the same measures from the authorities to put an end to these "rolezinhos" (flash mobs), using the convincing argument of the batons, tear gas, and rubber bullets that the Military Police brandished last Saturday to disperse the young people. And what if some of them just wanted to go to the movies, as 20-year-old Rodney Batista claimed?
The legal challenges surrounding the "rolezinho" (a type of youth gathering) add to other recent, unorthodox initiatives by our Judiciary, such as the annulment of the property tax increase in São Paulo, and the discussion about prohibiting taxis in bus lanes in the city, which has become a matter for the Public Prosecutor's Office. Now all that's left is for the courts to also decide who gets promoted and relegated in the Brazilian Championship, as some clubs are already attempting.
If things continue like this, it would be better to shut down the legislative bodies altogether, dismiss the noble parliamentarians elected as our representatives, give the parties a break, and leave everything to the most worthy judges, magistrates, and ministers.
The only danger will be if, soon, the hitherto harmless "rolezinhos" (informal gatherings of young people) turn into violent "rolezões" (mass gatherings of young people), bringing into the arena the parents of these young people who felt harassed by the authorities over the weekend. Despite my optimism, once again demonstrated in Sunday's column, there is nothing that cannot get worse when rights become relative, not everyone is equal before the law, and the independence of the branches of government is not respected.