Chronicle of a reinstatement foretold: Pinheirinhos’s and Vila Soma’s cases in sight of social function of private property

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the relationship between the Judiciary and urban territorial conflicts, having as theoretical framework the institute of social function of property. The research demonstrates that there is consensus on the nature and necessity for practical application of this institute. However, the practice does not seem attached to the major doctrine at the time the conflict is set. The repossession that occurred in 2012, at Pinheirinho, a major neighborhood located in São José dos Campos, as it is emblematic, is dissected so that we can observe how the different forces worked in judicial decisions and what its consequences were. In the third part of the article we analyze the history of occupation of Vila Soma, as well as the suspension of their reintegration. The main objective of the analysis is to correlate the theoretical discourse and the actions of the judiciary at the time the conflict materializes and it has to be solved. With the belief that we can envision a new future for repossession actions, whatever their size is, we
rely on specialized literature on Constitutional Law and Urban Law. For the reconstruction of the narratives in the second and third sections, we used the direct analysis of the procedural steps of the two cases and the complaint brought to the Organization of American States (OAS) by non governmental civil organizations.