By Eliane Portillo

The Brazilian government is analyzing the situation of 1,600 families evicted by force from a neighborhood called Pinheirinho in the city of Sao Paulo, after President Dilma Rousseff criticized police violence during this operation.

Based on a judicial order a total of 2,000 members of the Military Police went to the neighborhood of Pinheirinho, entered violently and used force to evict their inhabitants last Sunday. The governmental meeting is looking for a solution of the case, which has caused rejection and the condemnation by many Brazilian citizens. Many citizens are expressing their rejection in different parts of the country under the slogan, We Are All from Pinheirinho, demanding the neighborhood should be given back to their inhabitants.

The space was occupied by 1,600 families who settled there 8 years ago, and its ancient owners had left the place 30 years ago.

The judicial order had the support of the Governor of Sao Paulo, Geraldo Alckmin, and was ordered by a judge named Marcia Loureiro.

Popular associations denounced the Commander of the Military Police ignored an order from the Federal Justice of Brazil saying the place should not be evicted.

The order was the result of a judicial dispute going through first instance courts and the Sao Paulo Justice Court.

The Sao Paulo Justice Court annulled all the eviction process items having any irregularities, but this decision was not considered by Judge Loureiro, who ordered the eviction.

In a meeting with 90 representatives of the World Social Forum International Committee in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff criticized this violent action energetically, and said that the Brazilian government was in the middle of a friendly solution to the case, when it received the news on the eviction of Pinheirinho.

However, Rousseff said the federal government respects the decisions of the rest of the authorities, in this case, the state of Sao Paulo and the municipality of Sao Jose dos Campos, where the neighborhoods of Pinheirinho is located.

Both of those entities agreed on the judicial decision to evict the families.