Federal deputy Captain Augusto and state deputy Dani Alonso, both from the PL of São Paulo, sent a letter to the state governor, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), and to the mayor of the capital, Ricardo Nunes (MDB), asking that the school of samba Vai-Vai will be without access to public funds next year for “disrespecting” police officers.
“I propose that Vai-Vai be prohibited from receiving any form of public resources in the next fiscal year, as a form of sanction for the offensive conduct demonstrated. The measure will not only serve as punishment, but also as a sign that offenses against institutions and security professionals will not be tolerated in our state”, says the document.
Captain Augusto, who drafted the letter, also requests that the guidelines and criteria for granting financial support and sponsorship to cultural entities and events be reinforced. The deputy defends “ensuring that these are in no way associated with criminal activities or that they promote messages of hate and disrespect”.
A CNN He approached Vai-Vai to comment on the letter. So far, there has been no response.
In the Vai-Vai parade for the 2024 Carnival at the Anhembi Sambódromo, which took place last Saturday (10), police officers from the Riot Police were portrayed with red wings and horns – in an allusion to demonic figures.
Previously, Vai-Vai explained in a note that its samba-enredo “was a manifesto, a critique of what is understood by culture in the city of São Paulo, which excludes cultural manifestations such as hip hop and its four elements – breaking, graffiti, MCs and DJs”.
According to the school, “in this context, throughout the parade, a series of historical highlights were made, such as the art week of 1922 and the release of the album Sobrevivendo no Inferno, by Racionais MCs, in 1997”.
“Surviving in Hell put rap at the top of the charts, selling more than half a million copies. Racism, misery and social inequality — themes touched upon in previous albums — are exposed here as a great open wound, see Diário de um Detento, inspired by the great Carandiru massacre”, adds the note.
“In other words, the wing portrayed in Saturday’s parade, from the Vai-Vai samba school, in light of the freedom and playfulness that Carnival allows, paid a fair tribute to the album and to Racionais MCs himself, without the intention of promoting any kind of of individualized attack or provocation, but rather a wing, like the other 19 presented by the school, which pay homage to a movement”, indicates the school.
“It is worth highlighting that, in this historical period of the 1990s, public security in the state of São Paulo was an important and latent issue, with extremely high mortality rates among the black and peripheral population”, he continues.
“Furthermore, it is public knowledge that the precursors of the hip hop movement in Brazil were marginalized and treated as vagabonds, suffering repression and often being arrested simply for dancing and adopting a style of dress considered inappropriate for the time. In other words, what the school did, on the avenue, was to insert the album and the historical events in the context in which they occurred, in the plot of the parade”, concludes Vai-Vai.
Delegates repudiate
The Union of Police Officers of the State of São Paulo (Sindpesp) issued on Monday (12) a note of repudiation against Vai-Vai. According to the entity, the plot presented at the Anhembi Sambadrome represented the figure of law enforcement agents with “scorn”.
The note mentions the “Surviving in Hell” wing and highlights the use of horns that resembled the figure of a demon and “demonized the Police”, a reason for “extreme indignation” on the part of Sindesp.
According to the union, samba-enredo “affronts public security forces, disrespects and treats, in a vile and cowardly way, selfless professionals who dedicate themselves, day and night, to protecting society and combating crime, often , under precarious and adverse conditions, at the cost of their own lives and families.”
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