For food, families occupy supermarkets in at least nine capitals

Families occupied this Thursday (16) hypermarkets across Brazil in search of food. The action organized by the MLB (Movimento de Luta in Bairros, Vilas and Favelas) was carried out simultaneously in at least nine capitals.

In Aracaju, Belém, Belo Horizonte, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo, the acts took place in supermarkets. In Fortaleza, the Secretariat for Social Protection, Justice, Citizenship, Women and Human Rights of Ceará was occupied.

Under the name of “Christmas without hunger”, the national act brought together hundreds of people in each city, and was attended by men, women and children, denouncing hunger and in search of basic food baskets. In establishments, protesters displayed banners and repeated slogans.

Movements in capitals

In Aracaju, MLB occupied the Extra supermarket on Avenida Adélia Franco. The movement required food baskets for all participants to ensure that all families had something to eat for Christmas.

In Belém, protesters occupied the supermarket O + Barato. According to the movement, during the morning, several people who were in the establishment supported and showed solidarity with the action and donated ten basic food baskets. In addition, the network responsible for the unit received the group’s request for another 150 donations, and promised a return next week.

In the capital of Minas Gerais, around 500 families from occupations in Belo Horizonte and the metropolitan region occupied an Extra unit in the Santa Efigênia district. Participants asked for baskets for Christmas, but also for the other months of the year. The act, which started in the morning, ended at 18:00. According to the protesters, a meeting will be held this Friday (17) with representatives of the supermarket.

The BIG network was occupied by families in Porto Alegre with claims for 300 basic food baskets. The Christmas Without Hunger campaign, organized by MLB in São Paulo, brought together dozens of families in front of Extra, in Liberdade. And in Natal, the Midway Mall Extra was occupied by several families.

In Recife, around 200 people —according to estimates by the Military Police— visited the Extra supermarket, in the Madalena neighborhood. The move was both a protest for rising food prices and a claim to food on the table. According to MLB, the movement started at 8:30 am and ended around 3:00 pm. The service was suspended during this period, but the act remained peaceful and without any confusion. The group received a promise of a remote meeting with the network’s national management.

In Rio de Janeiro, Assaí, from Tijuca, was attended by several families with requests for 300 basic food baskets. The movement took a stand against rising food prices and famine, with banners that said “those who are hungry are in a hurry.”

As in RJ, a unit of the Assaí chain, located in Cidade Baixa, was occupied in Salvador. According to the group from Bahia, after the long period in the establishment, a delivery of baskets for tomorrow was agreed.

In Fortaleza, protesters occupied the Secretariat of Social Protection, Justice, Citizenship, Women and Human Rights of Ceará. The movement was received by the secretary of the folder, and got the donation of one hundred basic baskets and one hundred cleaning kits.