A.2.b. Resisting Eviction

As noted in the Introduction to A.2., forced evictions, and often local or national resistance, have occurred around the world – for example in Shanghai before the 2008 Olympics and in Rio de Janeiro in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. But often the poor are dispossessed to make way for urban development. This has occurred in many cities in South Africa, where about 10 percent of the population live in shacks in shanty towns, often with abysmal social facilities. An important movement campaigning for the rights of shack dwellers, Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) arose around Durban in 2005, and has since spread to settlements round South Africa, and has links to other African countries and internationally. It is a movement stressing participatory democracy which resists evictions, helps re-house the homeless, promotes better social services and opposes draconian provincial laws, such as the Kwa -Zulu Natal Slum Clearance Act, which AbM managed to overturn in the Constitutional Court. (Information about AbM available from War on Want (which provides support) and AbM’s own website: http://www.abahlali.org)

Another type of resistance to eviction is that by homeowners and their neighbours, when banks foreclose on mortgages and attempt to dispossess them. A significant movement has arisen in Spain since 2009 to prevent evictions in the context of the economic crisis that began in 2008. Since this is linked to the wider movement of the Indignados, it is covered under sub-section A.8.b.