Popular Committee of those Affected by the World Cup – Belo Horiztonte

The main goal of this project is to continue the prevention activities against violations of fundamental rights, such as the right to housing, informal labor, gender equality and the rights of women through training, legal and political assistance to affected groups and denunciation of violations, including the mitigation of impacts after the event. Additionally, struggling for the freedom of expression and combating the criminalization of social movements, through the production of materials that demonstrate a critical eye toward exceptional legislation in three spheres – Federal, State and Municipal – due to the World Cup.

– Social mobilization and political organization of new and existing social groups of those affected by the World Cup (women, transvestites and children and adolescents) to aid in the denunciation, confrontation and/or mitigation of rights violations in relation to the public authorities through the forwarding of demands, holding of public audiences and coordination of networks composed of institutional organs as well;

– Reinforcement of local actions to promote and defend human rights, especially those of women, through support for the construction of a Popular Legal Prosecutors course;

– Publication of a dossier: violation of rights in the context of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in the city of Belo Horizonte;

– Participation in the First Encounter of those Affected by Mega-Events and Mega-Projects in Brazil.

It is known that the many projects and actions in preparation for the 2014 World Cup violate, among other fundamental rights, the right to housing and the right to work, along with standardizing exceptional legislation that deprives citizens of even the right to freedom of expression throughout Brazil. These projects, standardizations and actions in Belo Horizonte are not the exception and can be seen as a permanent threat of removal and eviction of low-income families occupying areas with informal settlements, especially in communities located in the northern part of the city, where the Mineirão Stadium Complex is located, and where speculative interest has grown the most.

As if that weren’t enough, there is also the extinction of numerous work posts due to the closing the Mineirinho Artisanry Fair, the renovations to Mineirão Stadium, leaving more than five thousand families without any alternative form of income. There have also been stiffening applications of exceptional legislation that have carried out urban social cleansing and both state and municipal restrictions on the use of public space, effectively privatizing it, in the interests of large capital and the real estate market.

COPAC-BH’s goal is to promote and defend the rights of the groups and populations most directly affected by the 2014 World Cup in Belo Horizonte. Through the mapping, accompaniment and mobilization of these groups, both in institutional spheres as well as in city spaces, we seek to denounce and combat the growing number of human rights violations due to the mega-event, as well as mitigate its deleterious effects.

COPAC-BH is part of the National Network of Popular World Cup Committees (ANCOP), Popular Horizontal Assembly (APH) in Belo Horizonte and the Committee for Monitoring Violence During the Manifestations.

The organization managed to promote criticism regarding the social impacts of sports mega-events. Among the activities, some highlights were the in-depth study of afflicted groups and the mapping of new demands; the production of a primer; participation in seminars, congresses and other events; an occupation by the Minerão stadium’s stall owners to bring back unemployed workers to their traditional jobs; a demonstration in defense of poor and vulnerable communities’ right to housing and of urban occupations in the state.