Rio police fire tear gas in bid to clear tent city of pandemic ‘refugees’

A police officer walks past tents and shacks consumed by fires caused by stoves that were left unattended during an eviction at a settlement coined the “First of May Refugee Camp,” named for the date people moved on the land designated for a Petrobras refinery, in Itaguai, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Thursday, July 1, 2021, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Police have started evicting hundreds of homeless families from a recently established tent city near Rio de Janeiro, underscoring Brazil’s resurgent poverty during the pandemic.

TV images showed residents blocking the entrance to the campsite with bonfires as police launched tear gas canisters and fired water cannons at the tents.