Rio city hall shuts down warehouses in crackdown on illegal occupation of the waterfront

The Rio de Janeiro City Hall shut down two illegal warehouses in Copacabana, in the city's south zone, on Thursday (23), in a new phase of the operation dubbed Tolerância Zero (Zero Tolerance), which has been prompting protests from street vendors.

According to the city hall, which acted in partnership with the State Government, the shutdown aims to dismantle an alleged criminal logistics network that supplies illegal commerce along the south zone, on the beaches of Leme, Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon, a stretch spanning 8 kilometers.

Nine tons of equipment and 55 kilograms of food unfit for consumption and in poor sanitary conditions were seized. The warehouses are located on Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana and Rua Sá Ferreira.

Neither establishment had valid operating licenses. According to inspectors, the seized goods were valued at R$8,800.

In addition to the equipment and food, carts used by street vendors were also collected. They had been stored on Ladeira Saint Roman.

The seized goods were taken to the municipal public warehouse in Bonsucesso, in the north zone, and may be reclaimed by their owners upon presentation of a tax receipt.

In a statement, the city hall said the actions were based on intelligence reports from Seop (the Municipal Secretariat of Public Order), with information shared with Sesp (the State Secretariat of Public Security) and GSI (the Institutional Security Cabinet), a state government body.

A week ago, the city hall seized 11 carts and five tricycles used by street vendors deemed irregular, on the first day of tightened enforcement along the waterfront.

When the Tolerância Zero program was announced at the beginning of the month, the administration of Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere (PSD) said it had identified that criminal factions exploit irregular vendors, charging fees of between R$200 and R$300 for the use of space on the beachfront boardwalk.

The MPF (Federal Public Ministry) asked the courts to suspend the program and called on public authorities to develop a plan for managing spaces along the south zone waterfront.

In the MPF's view, combating organized crime and the illegal exploitation of public space does not justify measures that indiscriminately affect workers engaged in lawful activities.