Romani communities on the outskirts of Greater São Paulo face long-standing invisibility and structural problems that limit access to services. Official IBGE estimates place Brazil's Romani population between 800,000 and a million, but community leaders argue the real figure is higher. Without reliable official data, leaders say it is harder to design public policies that respond to concrete needs.
Many families live under canvas tents or in informal housing. This lack of a stable address creates barriers to education and health care. Structural urban problems make life worse: flooding in February 2025 in the far east of São Paulo, in the Jardim Pantanal area, left streets and houses underwater for several days. Camp residents reported damaged tents, days under water, a lack of drinking water and collective efforts to protect furniture and appliances; neighbours helped during the emergency.
Romani groups in Brazil include the Calon, the Roma and the Sinti, and each ethnicity has its own customs. Nicolas Ramanush, president of the Romani Embassy of Brazil in Santo André, notes that the Sinti were heavily affected by Nazism and that many Romani were killed during the Holocaust. Romani people also face problems when registering ethnicity on official documents: Santos recalls difficulty registering her children, and Ramanush says he could not declare a Romani identity in the 2022 census because it was not an option.
Activists support Bill 3547 of 2015 by federal deputy Helder Salomão (PT), which would require teaching Romani culture and history in schools, but the bill has seen little progress. Interviewees say that greater visibility and official recognition are essential steps to reduce prejudice and improve access to rights.
- Needs: recognition and census inclusion
- Education: teaching Romani history and culture
- Services: better access to health and schooling
Difficult words
- invisibility — being not seen or noticed by others
- structural — related to basic systems or organised arrangements
- census — official count of a country's population
- informal — not officially planned or legally recognised housing
- recognition — official acceptance or public acknowledgement of identity
- prejudice — an unfair opinion or feeling about a group
- ethnicity — a group's shared culture, history and identity
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Discussion questions
- How would including Romani options in the census change public policies for these communities?
- In what ways could teaching Romani history and culture in schools reduce prejudice?
- What practical steps could improve access to health and schooling for families living in informal housing?
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