Occupation of the School of Architecture and Design of UFMG: An exercise of collective autonomy

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the movement of school and university occupations against PEC55 in Brazil in 2016, especially the occupation of the School of Architecture and Design (EAD) at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Belo Horizonte, as an exercise of collective autonomy. By occupying the buildings, the students defined their own rules, and the space, once seen as only of education, is seen as a public space in its essence, that is, a space where community matters are dealt with. In addition to claiming their rights – as in any form of protest – students go beyond and advocate a new way of living, questioning both the current way and that which would come with the approval of the government’s proposal. At this moment of experimentation, we saw the opportunity to elaborate new interfaces and urban interventions with the intention of informing and establishing new interactions and appropriations of space. It will be analyzed the organization of the occupation and the distribution of everyday tasks in the process of advancing the discussion about horizontality and leadership. The EAD students experienced a practice of self-organization, sociability, political exercise, activism and reinvention of everyday life, an experience of collective autonomy.