Inside Crackland: the open-air drug market that São Paulo just can’t kick
This brazen drug scene has been a stubborn fixture of downtown São Paulo for more than two decades
The Guardian (UK)
Monday, November 27, 2017
Monday, November 27, 2017
The brazen drug scene of Cracolândia is unlike nearly anything in any city in the world – hundreds and sometimes thousands of addicts, congregating openly in the city’s bustling downtown core. Every mayor thinks they have a solution. After taking office in January, the current mayor, business mogul João Doria, declared war on Crackland. A veritable battalion of 900 armed police and security agents descended on the addicts. Local government officials heralded the operation a success. Doria, triumphant, declared: “Crackland is over and won’t come back.” Six months later, Crackland continues, just metres away from where it was cleared.
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