Juliete Pantoja is the only woman running for governor of Rio de Janeiro this year and will appear on the ballot only by her first name. She is a candidate for Unidade Popular (UP) and a militant of the Movement of Struggle in Neighborhoods, Villages and Favelas (MLB). The interview was conducted at the Luiza Mahin Occupation, located in the former Inmetro building in Rio Comprido, which represents the struggle of hundreds of families from MLB and carries the history of four other occupations.
The candidate defends housing mutirões to solve the housing problem in Rio. She guarantees that the constructions will not be made in an improvised way, like in the story of the three little pigs, but rather with trained professionals. The goal is to requalify abandoned properties that do not fulfill a social function.
According to Juliete, these properties are available in different spheres of public power, including federal, state, and municipal properties. The first action of her plan would be to identify these abandoned spaces and transform them into housing for families in need. The Luiza Mahin occupation was used as an example of how unused properties can be repurposed to serve the population.
