In an interview to the last Sunday edition of the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo, the Professor of Constitutional Law at São Paulo Law School (DIREITO SP), Oscar Vilhena Vieira, warned that, while the violence practiced by the black blocs can decrease the population's adherence to legitimate demonstrations, bills that seek to criminalize protest movements also threaten democracy.

Vilhena was emphatic in defending the existing legislation. There is no need to review the laws. We are not dealing with terrorism. This would be an attempt to give a quick and populist response to the problem. These responses are reckless because they are very vague and somehow threaten democracy. We cannot give the impression that there is no legislation to regulate and prevent the action of violent groups. If they are acting with this freedom it is because institutions failed, he said to the newspaper.

Also according to him, intelligence actions and dialogue are necessary in an attempt to avoid violence during the protests. There's no use just placing armed police on the streets during the World Cup. There is an intelligence side to it that needs to be done. The other issue is the political equation. It is not illegitimate if government officials try to talk with these protesters, he recommended.

The Brazil We Want

Since the protests began in the middle of last year, São Paulo Law School joined the various civil society organizations to better understand the nature of the protests, such as Conectas, the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety and Instituto Sou da Paz - which contributed with their respective specialties not only to study the movements, but also to formulate proposals that could meet the demands.

From this effort emerged O Brasil Que Queremos (The Brazil We Want) - a movement that has been responsible for organizing meetings to discuss the city, transportation and safety ideas with São Paulo residents.