“I did research on my reality, based on the difficulties I go through inside. I studied the Vila Soma Occupation, how it was built historically, formed as a center of resistance and became a reference in Brazil.” Antonio Douglas Campos da Silva (20), resident of Ocupação Vila Soma and student at evening Electronics course, from Unicamp Technical College (Cotuca), will present its work in Argentina, next week, during the Latin American Seminar on Theory and Politics of Popular Settlements, at the National University of General Sarmiento, metropolitan region of Buenos Aires.
The article entitled “The Vila Soma Occupation (Sumaré/SP, Brazil), the struggle for the right to the city and the formation of political subjects based on the conflict” is the first result of two years of research developed by Antonio within the scope of the Institutional Program of Scientific Initiation Scholarships – High School (Pibic-EM), from the Dean of Research (PRP) at Unicamp, financed by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).
Antônio's scientific initiation was part of the research-based geography teaching proposal developed by professor André Pasti, who encourages Cotuca students to develop research projects during geography classes. “The proposal is to give students tools to analyze their own reality”, explained Pasti. For the teacher, teaching concepts and research tools to high school students is the best way to show the power of geography to explain the reality in which they live. “The second year of the geography subject interested me a lot, as I found myself involved in most of the questions that the teacher raised in the classroom”, said Antônio.
“In addition to encouraging students to get closer to the research topic, we also try to reflect on the relevance of research for society and teach how research can be transformative”, highlighted Isadora Garcia, an undergraduate student at Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urban Planning (FEC ) from Unicamp and monitors the project.
Developed since 2013, Pasti's proposal was boosted in 2016, when the PRP granted a quota of Pibic-EM scholarships to students at the University's technical colleges. Intended for projects by University professors, the program was not accessible to the projects of teachers from Cotil (Colégio Técnico de Limeira) and Cotuca. “More than the value [R$100,00], Unicamp's institutional recognition was very important. This year we have nine approved projects, with between 3 and 6 students each”, reported the teacher.
Each student chooses the topic and writes their research project. Some themes, such as urban mobility, are recurrent, motivated by the difficulty faced by students in getting to school. But even though they are individual research, much of the work is carried out collectively. "The coolest thing about the project is precisely this group work. Each student is responsible for their own research, but we have a lot of discussions and students bring things to each other's research. There is a lot of exchange", reported Isadora.
Right to housing and social function of property
Celebrating six years next July, Vila Soma is currently one of the largest popular occupations in the State of São Paulo, with around 10 thousand inhabitants. Located in the center of the city of Sumaré, a municipality in the Metropolitan Region of Campinas, the community fights for land regularization and the urbanization of its area.
As Antonio reported, the occupation is completely excluded from the city's basic infrastructure. “Everything is carried out by the residents’ self-management. They buy the water from a tanker truck and pay five times more than the price for piped water. Each house has a septic tank, built by its residents.”
The 990 thousand square meter plot of land, belonging to the bankrupt company Soma Equipamentos Industriais, occupied by Vila Soma is located in the center of Sumaré, close to the city hall, the bus station and access to the main highways. “It's a very strategic place," said Pasti. "Exactly where popular housing should be, in spaces that actually have access to the city. There is a perfect place.” According to the professor, the land was abandoned for 22 years, without paying IPTU and with dividends at the municipal, state and federal levels. "Only after the occupation was its social function questioned," he reported.
“The Constitution defines that property is only guaranteed if it fulfills a social function. A plot of land in the city center that has been empty for 22 years while the population needs housing is not fulfilling its social function. The company should lose the property, as these lots need to be used”, argues Isadora. This social function, according to Pasti, is regulated in the City Statute and can be guaranteed in different ways.
Since the decision to suspend the repossession of the land by the Federal Supreme Court (STF), in 2016, little progress has been made in the process of regularizing the area. According to Pasti, economic and political interests prevent the conclusion of legal processes. “The conquestSoma's is symbolic of the entire struggle for the right to housing. That’s why she’s so worrying,” she said. “It really is a battle of city projects. About what city we want for everyone”, concluded António.
