Judiciary vs. Executive: Bureaucratic Legacy from the Boate Kiss Fire

The administrative offices for the state of Rio Grande do Sul were shut down yesterday (Tuesday, 07/09/13) by judicial decree issued by Justice Hilbert Maximiliano Akihito Obara (5ª Vara da Fazenda Pública do Foro Central). The interdiction of the Fernando Ferrari Administrative Center, in the capital city of Porto Alegre, resulted from a review of public safety documents required for occupation of and public access to the building. All such structures are required to maintain a current “Plan for Protection and Prevention Against Fires” (PPCI). In the aftermath of the horrific blaze at the Kiss nightclub that massacred 242 young patrons (see http://latamperspectives.blogspot.com/2013/05/boate-kiss-and-brazilian-public-policy.html), the governments of Brazil as a whole and of Rio Grande do Sul in particular have taken great pains to demonstrate their dedication to fire prevention and safety in public venues.

The reaction from the state house, Palácio Piratini, was to ignore the interdiction and open for business as usual today (Wednesday, 07/10/13). After all, how can the State conduct its business if its primary administrative offices are closed? How can the very PPCI documents required by Justice Obara be processed if the Judiciary effectively shut down the Executive branch’s daily operations? The Executive’s decision to ignore the court order and open the doors of the Administrative Center spurred major labor unions to organize a protest against allegedly unsafe working conditions in the building since the documents were not up to date. This led to confrontations between the union representatives and government workers who reported to duty only to find the doors blocked by union personnel. Tensions escalated when ordinary citizens began to arrive to conduct their business, including receipt of state-supported medications for needy individuals. Eventually the State rolled out the riot police, and the protesters declared that their planned time period was completed. Right when conditions appeared to be heading toward normalcy, a substantial group of university students arrived to co-opt the protest for purposes of the large-scale manifestations that have been disrupting the country in recent months (see http://latamperspectives.blogspot.com/2013/06/brazilian-protests-and-confederations.html). However, at the end of the day, Justice Obara’s decision was overturned by the State’s higher court, Tribunal de Justiça do Rio Grande do Sul (TJ-RS). This court ruled that content of the fire safety documents was complete, and that the State’s primary administrative office was in compliance.

This apparent antagonism between the Judiciary and the Executive branches of the Rio Grande do Sul government demonstrates the extent to which the tragedy has brought to light the failures in public safety and policy. All levels of government are scrambling to cover their political assets. All of this takes place against a backdrop of continuing, heterogeneous social unrest. The posturing and bickering of branches of the government would be comical if they did not have such an impact on the functioning of the State.