‘A heavy burden’: Belém residents evicted in rush for profits from Cop30 rentals | Cop30

TThe two -bedroom apartment in Belém became the house of Suelen Freitas in 2020, when she moved her family to the same building as her elderly mother. At the edge of the Amazon forest, it was there that its story took place for five years, the abolition of the pandemic cochem, to its two children entering university.

But in March, everything changed. An expulsion notice gave them and their neighbors 30 days to leave their apartments. One by one, the 12 families were forced. “It was very painful,” said Freitas.

The reason, it was said, was that the owner of the building planned to convert all the apartments to short-term rentals for COP30, the annual climate summit which should take place in the Brazilian city in November.

The summit of this year, which began with an idealistic dream that the world would come to see the climate crisis by themselves in the tropical forest, is increasingly tangled with anger and recriminations on costs and accusations of Sky-High accommodation that poor countries are forced from meetings.

The story of Freitas has become too common in a city which, even before it was chosen to accommodate the summit, suffered from a shortage of housing and two of the country’s rental costs.

“COP30 was only the icing on the top,” said Priscilla Santos, co -founder of the Rede Amazônidas Pelo Clima Thinktank. It attributes to large real estate companies operating in the city to trigger the accommodation crisis.

“They immediately decided to conclude exclusive agreements with high-end owners and promised to rent them to foreigners at scandalous prices,” she said.

The local government has picked up the idea and COP30 was presented as an opportunity to earn money on social networks and beyond. The promotional material found by the Guardian encouraged local populations to “take advantage of this great opportunity to earn even more”.

Attracted by the prospect of profits once in life, the owners quickly started to promote short -term rentals for COP30 to the detriment of city residents.

The husband of Freitas, who is an Uber driver, spent the 30 days after their expulsion advice scanning the streets for the rental lists. Whenever the conversations were the same: “Is it for the cop? No? So we don’t rent you.”

It was clear from the start that Belém would not have enough hotel rooms for the 50,000 people who expected to attend the summit, so using private houses has always been a condition for the event to occur. But the way it took place was unhappy in some cases.

Giovana Silva * moved with her husband in a three -bedroom house with a backyard in February 2024, when the couple decided to start a family.

One year after the three -year fixed rate lease, however, the owner approached them. In exchange for the acceptance of leaving the house in November, Silva and her husband received approximately one tenth of the expected profits from the owner of the COP30 rental.

The verbal agreement included a renovation of the property, which was to last a week. Instead, he dragged for almost three months. “The worst was to limit itself to our room, the only part of the house that was not disturbed,” said Silva.

Silva is pregnant and it hurts to think about what will happen: to remove the house from everything that is at a distance, to move in with the parents-in-law for a month, and not know how the guests will treat his house or to what he will look like his return. “It’s far too little money for such a heavy burden,” she said.

The residents of Belém believe that a large part of the world’s media painted their city as poor, lacking infrastructure and unable to host the COP. For them, the cover seems colonial and stereotypical. Despite all the challenges, they are categorical that they want to host the summit, which, according to Santos, is more than a symbolic choice.

“We need people to come here and see the Amazon for what it is really, beyond exotified or fictionalized concepts,” she said.

The event has already created a training effect. “Every day people have started to perceive themselves as being affected by the climate crisis. This discussion, once a niche, has now become commonplace,” said Santos.

“The lady who cleans my house, who confused months ago with the Football World Cup [Copa, in Brazilian Portuguese]Not only recognizes the international importance of the event, but she now understands what climate change is and how he affects his life, “said lawyer Ieda Andrade.

Founded Andrade Conexão cOP30An accommodation micro-platform that connects hosts and guests by word of mouth. Like his, a number of others have emerged in recent months – including a community accommodation platform led by Christians – while the inhabitants strive to offer affordable alternatives to participants in the cops.

“The Belenense are a welcoming people and we make a real sincere effort to welcome all those who wish to come,” said Santos.

With the help of a lawyer, Freitas managed to get an additional 30 days to leave his apartment. After two months, his family finally obtained a new place to live – a more expensive, less connected and much further from the new address of his mother.

It’s at home for now. But if that will remain once the top is finished is still visible. “With construction and renovations throughout the city, we hope to have more important options,” said Freitas.

Regardless of what the future has in store for us, she insists on clarifying that she is not at all against COP30. “We want to be part of this discussion,” she said.

* The name has changed at the request of the questioned person