Brazilian authorities move on ‘Cracolandia’

A crowd gathers in Princess Isabel Square after a police operation removed people from an area in the Nova Luz neighborhood, known as “Cracolandia,” in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Rafael Matos da Silva works as a doorman at a boarding house in Nova Luz. “There are hard-working people and families living here, not just traffickers,” he says of the neighborhood.

The downtown Sao Paulo neighborhood of Nova Luz, known as “Cracolandia,” has a large concentration of crack users living on its streets.

An addict lights up in Nova Luz’s Princess Isabel Square in São Paulo, Brazil.

Authorities stand guard near Nova Luz’s Princess Isabel Square after a police operation removed people from Helvetia and Dino Bueno streets.

Milton Custodia de Souza owns a boarding house in the Nova Luz neighborhood near “Cracolandia.”

Princess Isabel Square has come to be known as the new “Cracolandia” after a police operation removed drug users from Helvetia and Dino Bueno streets in the Sao Paulo neighborhood Nova Luz.

A man bathes in the crowded Princess Isabel Square.

An aerial view of Helvetia and Dino Bueno streets in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where authorities expelled a large concentration of drug users.

Many drug users who had scattered from one part of the Nova Luz neighborhood after a police crackdown have regrouped at Princess Isabel Square.

Brazilian police sweep through the Sao Paulo area known as “Cracolandia” in May. More than 500 police officers were involved in an operation to crack down on drug use and trafficking to help revitalize the downtown.

Brazilian police conduct sweeps of homes in the Nova Luz neighborhood of Sao Paulo.

Brazilian police sweep through an area known as “Cracolandia” in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The operation in Nova Luz by Brazilian police drew criticism from some residents.