São Paulo street blocks announce decision not to participate in Carnival

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to the statement, the cancellation is due to the lack of clarity and consensus among federal, state, and municipal government institutions in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing health and social crisis.

“With more than 600 blocks regularly registered for a potential holding of our festivity, today, January 5, 2022, we are completely unsure as to the possibility of holding our Carnival, as to the potential alternatives to support the whole production chain involved in the event,” reads the statement.

The blocks further stated that they will not accept the idea of holding the street carnival “in contained venues, outdoors, such as the Interlagos Race Track, Latin America Memorial, Jockey Club, Sambadrome, and others. That is the private sector’s alternative.”

According to the statement, signed by the Forum of Street Carnival Blocks of São Paulo, the Union of Street Blocks of the State of São Paulo, and the Women’s Carnival Commission of São Paulo, during the preliminary organization of Carnival, no block was included in the planning negotiations, data survey, and health requirements, “in short, nothing that the Public Power could use to approach the real protagonists of this festival, which are the Street Blocks.”

The city hall of São Paulo has not yet decided if it will authorize the street Carnival in the São Paulo capital.