A public audit undertaken by the General Union Controller (Controladoria Geral da União, CGU) of signed popular housing contracts between 2004 and April 2011 under the command of the Brazilian Housing Secretariat (Secretaria Nacional de Habitação, SNH) / Ministry of Cities (Ministério das Cidades) recently pointed to a noticeably high number of delayed, paralysed and non-started projects throughout the country.
Whilst government officials were keen to fanfare the progress of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (”My House, My Life”) programme this week – representatives of Brazil´s real estate sector at a public-private gathering in São Paulo took the opportunity to speak out against the realities of the initiative, with calls for the authorities to raise the maximum price limit once again (a request that was subsequently declined by Inês Magalhães, secretary of Brazil´s housing ministry).
The Brazilian Association of eal Estate Credit and Savings (Associação Brasileira de Crédito Imobiliário e Poupança, ABECIP) recently published lending statistics for 2011 as well as its expectations for 2012.
The last week of January 2012 saw the mass eviction of thousands of families residing in favelas (slums) in the Pinheirinho district of São José dos Campos, São Paulo state. Behind a smokescreen of bringing “security” as a result of the resistance, the heavy handedness of Brazil’s military police was well documented and can be viewed all over news sites and YouTube with residents being forcibly removed using tear gas bombs and rubber bullets in addition to regular beatings, police brutality and little opportunity to collect belongings prior to the swift commencement of demolitions – leaving huge senses of loss, irrationality and injustice.
As 2012 will mark the 5th year anniversary of the launch of the Brazilian government led Growth Acceleration Programme (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento, PAC), specialists speaking to Brazil’s “IG Economia” newspaper recently expressed their concerns related to the low economic growth directly related to the various infrastructure projects happening around the country.
Two press clippings (extracted in December 2011 from Brazil´s Folha newspaper) that demonstrate how the rapid growth of property prices in Brazil has filtered through to the country’s favela communities – with rental figures that are very arguably beyond feasible affordability levels of the country´s low income groups. Due to the existence of very few other housing options, most residents do not have any choice but to pay such sums for what are plainly appalling and sub-humane living conditions.
a short news bulletin via Paraná state TV which demonstrates the bad workmanship and other related issues on a donated social housing project under the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (MCMV) (“My House, My Life”) initiative in Cascavel, Paraná as well as commentary with regards to analysis undertaking on unit costs.
The administrators of the social housing programme Minha Casa, Minha Vida (“My House, My Life”) have announced that the construction of 6,940 houses in Salvador (Bahia) has been stopped due to a reported “absence of liquidity” of the two construction companies involved. In the first week of January, executive director of the Caixa Econômica Federal Teotônio Rezende visited the project to examine what steps could be taken – but the issues have been well known since September 2011.
With rising pressures in dealing with Brazil’s massive affordable housing deficit as a result of the impending 2012 municipality elections, the government has affirmed its commitment to continue with the R$ 22.9 billion Minha Casa, Minha Vida (My House, My House) programme after the slow pace of its development in 2011.
A video extracted from a November 2011 Jornal da Gazeta news programme on problems faced by São Paulo apartment buyers as a result of being falsely led to believe they would have access to financing via the Caixa Econômica Federal as part of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (“My House, My Life”) housing programme.
