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Mario Cruz photographed the housing crisis to “demand” the implementation of April.

Mario Cruz photographed the empty buildings that served as a refuge for people in Lisbon “for too long” and will present the result to “demand” the observance of April on the 50th anniversary of the revolution that overthrew the dictatorship.

“Roof” is the name of a new project (exhibition and book) by photojournalist Mario Cruz, whose motto is the right to decent housing, as stated in the Constitution.

Over the past ten years, Mario has regularly photographed buildings, factories and schools that have one thing in common: they are empty.

The photographer, who has won two World Press Photos awards, wanted to expose the “hidden side of the housing crisis” and demand a solution to the problem.

“If the Constitution guarantees decent housing to everyone, perhaps it’s time to respect it. And April 25 should demand this respect,” he said.

At Lusa’s request, Mario Cruz chose three points on his alternative map of the city that were “very different” from those used by tourists.

The first stop is at a “symbolic” place of how “the state fails every day”: in front of the Belém Palace, Mario Cruz recalls that the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, set himself the goal of “ending homelessness in the city.”

It turns out that behind the official place of residence “there are people who have nowhere to live” and who occupy empty buildings adjacent to private apartment buildings.

“They work, but they can’t pay rent or buy a house,” he describes, emphasizing: “These people are homeless, we just don’t see them on the streets.”

The second stage takes us to the Chelas area, where a dirt path lined with colorful flowers leads to an 18th-century farmhouse.

The laid-out clothes are evidence of life in the boarded-up building, whose wall has collapsed so much since Mario photographed it in April 2014 that even a sign reading “Lisbon City Council” has fallen.

At that time, at the age of 63, “Mr. Gomez” – the face of the exhibition poster – lost his job and found a “makeshift roof” there. […] is constantly in danger of collapse,” which could be reached by stairs.

Mario highlights three moments in the decade he photographed: the 2013/2014 financial crisis, which was thought to be temporary, the hope of recovery in 2019/2020, and the current “tipping point.”

“I returned to some sites in 2023 and people remained […]because they have enormous difficulties renting a house in the Portuguese capital,” he notes.

Nearby, in Marvila, the industrial school Estado Novo shelters dozens of people.

The size of the building, accommodating 850 students, is impressive. You walk through glass and broken tiles through outbuildings that housed vocational courses in mechanics, electronics and other subjects.

The school, closed in 2010 to allow for the Third Tagus Junction (to be completed), is still standing, although in a deep state of degradation, but it was revealed this month that demolition is indeed underway.

Currently, “ordinary workers, pensioners, […] some immigrants,” describes Mario, highlighting the symbolism of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Revolution and the existence of “a school left over from the Estado Novo that welcomed children on April 25.”

At 59, João makes his home two rooms with a door and a carpet. Inside there is a bed, a table, three chairs. On the wall is the Benfica team next to the image of Our Lady of Fatima.

In his photographs, he documented the “attempt” of residents to give “some kind of dignity” to the places where they live: “People are trying to turn these places into […] real houses.”

Originally from Cape Verde, João previously lived on the streets four years ago and moved into an old school where he said he found a “good environment”.

In the outbuilding where it is located, “about 15 people” live and each has their own stove; the makeshift kitchen has enough “to cook food.” Otherwise, João has to go “to the forest” and use public baths.

“Life has deceived me,” João laments in minutes with Lusa, whose presence has attracted the police who make regular rounds there.

It’s at the old school that Mario addresses a “problem” that causes him “great confusion”: abandoned government property.

“It’s almost incomprehensible how it took so long […] There has never been serious investment in public housing and the use of many of these buildings, which with absolute certainty could provide decent housing for many people,” criticizes the founder of the Narrativa association.

The last stage of the route is the Antigo Recolhimento das Merceeiras, a building in the center of Lisbon that Santa Casa da Misericordia donated for the exhibition “The Roof”.

Situated in the Sé district, where there is a marked contrast between the apartments crowded with migrants and the tuk-tuks that snake around Europe’s number one tourist destination, the building allowed Mario to design an immersive exhibition that transports visitors into the environments of the photographed locations.

“Whoever comes to this exhibition will have to really search for photographs, just as I often searched for people in these places, and will have to go into different houses, and in each house they will see a piece of this whole story,” he said. explains.

At the same time, the photographer strives to show that this harsh reality is “very easy to fall into.”

“All it takes is not having the support from family that many of us probably have, all it takes is losing our job, all it takes is not renewing our lease and we’ll easily we find ourselves in a situation where we have to look for an improvised roof,” he warns.

The exhibition “Roof” with free admission will open on the 27th at 15:00 and will last until June 9.

Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal

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