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[POLITICS] · Brazil · 74 sources

Federal Prosecutor Seeks Halt to Rio's 'Zero Tolerance' Beach Enforcement

The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) filed a civil public action in the Federal Court requesting the suspension of Rio de Janeiro's "Zero Tolerance" program on the city’s beaches. The MPF argues that the municipal initiative, which employs about 320 municipal guards to patrol Leme, Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon, was launched without the required dialogue with the Union – the owner of Brazilian beaches – and without a federally‑mandated integrated beach‑management plan.

The ministry contends that the program infringes federal norms governing coastal areas and imposes severe restrictions on thousands of street‑vendor workers, many of whom are Black, migrants or refugees and depend on beach commerce for their livelihood. While the city says the policy targets organized crime and illegal commerce, the MPF maintains that such objectives do not justify indiscriminate penalties against lawful workers and calls for the Union and the municipality to develop a comprehensive beach‑management plan before any enforcement measures are applied.

Sources

16 days ago