The city of Rio de Janeiro carried out an operation to remove homeless people who were occupying the Palacete Imperial, a historic building located in Downtown Rio. The mansion, which belongs to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), was under the responsibility of the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan).
The property had been closed by Civil Defense for 18 years due to risk of collapse. In July, the newspaper O GLOBO had reported that around 40 people lived at the site.
The action was conducted by the municipal secretariats of Social Assistance and Housing of Rio. In a statement, Iphan said it accompanied the operation "with humane measures aimed at ensuring the safety and rights of the people who were then present at the property."
The institute, however, did not inform how many people left the site during the eviction operation.
