Lavras press is barred from the handover of the new prison: what does the Minas Gerais state government have to hide?

Opinion | Editorial from Rádio Cultura

What does the Minas Gerais state government have to hide?

On Wednesday (11), Lavras received a prison with 628 places. It got one, but it was not invited. The Lavras press was barred from the handover of the new unit, organized by the State Secretariat of Justice and Public Security (Sejusp). Journalists were left outside, standing in the sun, and were prevented from following the ceremony and the speeches by officials, even without filming and while following all safety rules.

The organizers even had the nerve to offer that one official would step out to answer a single question from the local press. One question. In protest, the journalists left, and Rádio Cultura left with them, in solidarity with their colleagues.

It was not only the press. Representatives of important Lavras institutions, people who fight for justice and always stand up for it, were left off the guest list. Many were not even notified. The city that will live with the prison every day was left outside its own event, if it can even be called a party…

To be fair, the local coordinators of the prison system have always maintained a harmonious and respectful relationship with the Lavras press. The embarrassment has an owner: the communication team of Sejusp, which was responsible for the event. It had no basic knowledge of the city's authorities, failed to invite several names, and even got the names and roles of the few attendees who did enter the venue wrong. Complete amateurism and unpreparedness.

A ridiculous attitude. Kept under lock and key, as if the opening was not even meant to be publicized. A Greek gift handed over through the back door.

A prison changes a city's daily life: the routine of families, the flow of visitors, the demand for security, healthcare, and infrastructure. The population had the right to see, ask, and be heard. The Minas Gerais state government chose to hide it.

The unit came out of a 2020 agreement between the Minas Gerais state government, the Ministério Público (Public Prosecutor's Office), and Vale, to replace prison places located in dam risk areas. Lavras and Poços de Caldas were the cities chosen. The agreement may have been technical. The handover was disrespectful.

One more demonstration from the Zema group government, of Romeu Zema and Mateus Simões: a government that does not know how to communicate, does not know how to respect the press, and was chased out of Lavras through the back door.

But Rádio Cultura has access to the internal footage. In the video for this story, reporter Frederico Mesquita tells what happened at the prison gate, and you can see inside the gift that Lavras received from the Zema and Mateus Simões government.

Rádio Cultura will keep doing what it has done for 80 years: showing the population what happens in the city, even when someone tries to shut the door.

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