São Paulo's First Lady Bia Doria sparked outrage when she said that homeless people like to live on the streets because these places are attractive and do not require responsibilities. People have called for her to step down from the São Paulo Social Fund, which assists people in a situation of social vulnerability.
In a conversation with socialite Val Marchiori, the wife of Governor João Doria said that the homeless should not be given food because they need to understand that they have to leave the street, a place that, according to her, is comfortable.
"It is not correct for you to get there on the street and have lunch, because the person has to be aware that he has to leave the street. The street today is an attraction; the person likes to stay on the street."
A symbol of the Pastoral do Povo de Rua, in São Paulo, Father Júlio Lancelloti, said that Bia Doria's words reveal cold and intentional simplism to reinforce "elitist, racist, discriminatory and deleterious thinking about people on the margins of society".
With 35 of his 71 years in charge of social actions aimed at homeless people, Lancelloti says that the homeless "did not choose the city sidewalk by taste".
"The street presented itself as the only option for most of them. And to live on the street is to survive. There is no access to drinking water, sanitary facilities, and no guarantee of security and dignity."
Official data show that the street population continues to grow in the capital of São Paulo.
The city's most recent census showed that the number of homeless people in the city reached 24,344 people in 2019 - up 53% in four years.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon