Cracolândia, the largest open-air crack market

About half a thousand Brazilians addicted to cookies travel daily through some of the streets of the historic center, which was once one of the most glorious in São Paulo. This is an area full of drug stalls. Popularly known as Craclandia, it is the largest open-air drug market in Brazil, an area that has become a zombie and hostile territory for the rest of São Paulo. The city council has just embarked on a second attempt to dismantle Cracolândia in the name of counter-narcotics, and this week mobilized hundreds of police officers who have demolished shacks and robbed drug addicts. According to local media, a man was killed in the uprising on Friday morning.

Crackland has been a chronic problem for years. The police operation had a similar effect to shaking the horn. As the agents advance, hundreds of addicts turn the other way and try to settle somewhere to resume the consumption and sale of crack. Many shopping centers closed their doors immediately, shocked by the groups of crackers. Several bus lines were diverted. 7 people were arrested with drugs, scales and fake weapons. In addition, police pressure increased the price of goods. Crack rose from 20 to 50 reais (four to ten dollars), Estadão newspaper reported, citing police.

A man living in Cracland leaves the area with a pipe in his hand after a police operation on May 11, 2022. André Penner (AP)

The mayor of the megalopolis, Ricardo Nunes, center right, decided to dissolve them. On Thursday, he ordered the police to arrest whoever had the chip. There are plans to transfer them to the police station and from there to a rehabilitation program. By this time, a third of the more than 300 people approached by authorities had agreed to go to the shelter, but only a dozen had completed the municipal therapy program, according to Folha de S. Paulo. The counselor explained that “they are not supposed to get together. “Invading them will facilitate the work of aid (drug users) and police in the fight against drug addiction,” the paper writes.

Walking around Camp Cracland means an army of zombies, very skinny creatures – men, women, couples with children, adults or the elderly – sitting on the floor and squatting, meddling or walking around with their eyes lost under the blanket. To protect yourself from the cold at this time of year. Many drivers have a habit of locking their doors when passing.

In a city of disparity, the historic center in ruins is occasionally visited by privileged residents of São Paulo, as there are several relevant cultural institutions in the streets near Krakow such as the São Paulo Concert Hall, the Pinacoteca, the Portuguese Museum or the Resistance Monument.

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The capital’s first commando, Brazil’s most powerful organized crime group, acting as a brotherhood of criminals, controls Cracland. It is suspected that the order came from their ranks that in April last year, at night, the entire camp and the crackers moved to different streets.

A man living in Cracland, located in Princess Elizabeth Square, crosses the street for police on May 11, 2022. André Penner (AP)

The ongoing municipal operation coincides with an increased police presence on the streets of São Paulo at a time when cell phone theft has skyrocketed as PPC has turned it into a new illegal business. Police investigations show that, in addition to the terminal’s value, criminals also use it to transfer money directly to bank accounts.

There were repeated attempts to destroy the camp and drive out drug addicts. Most of what they’ve accomplished over and over is that soon Cracland will grow up in the same place or a few blocks away.

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