Brazil: Scandal of the Lunch Money Mafia

LATIMES.com reported – Police in Sao Paulo have begun forcibly removing young students who are occupying a number of schools and public buildings to protest a scheme that investigators say diverted funds from their public school lunch programs.

Before sunrise in South America’s largest city, a wave of police vehicles blocked off roads downtown, and officers in riot gear soon entered the Paula Souza Educational Center, dragging out dozens of children aged 13 to 18.

“He grabbed my collar, but then pulled me by my backpack. No one got really hurt, but I was scared. As soon as they walked in I thought, ‘Whoa, these guys are big,’” said 17-year-old Inae Lima shortly after being removed.

Police were enforcing the first judicial order to reestablish state control over public property, including schools and the state legislature, that have been taken over by a wave of students reacting to the revelation of what local media have called the Mafia da Merenda, or “Lunch Money Mafia.” Read Article