Privately run cemeteries in São Paulo have overgrown grass, violated graves and restrooms without water, Folha finds
Folha visited six cemeteries and the Vila Alpina Crematorium; operators say they have made repairs, and the city agency says it has issued 75 fines and warnings.
Translated from the Portuguese original by the Panorama newsroom. Read in Portuguese
Summary written by the Panorama newsroom from the sources listed below. Facts are attributed to the original publications.
Municipal cemeteries in São Paulo run by private companies have violated graves, overgrown grass, dirty restrooms without water or soap, potholed paths and piled-up debris, according to a Folha report. In 2023, the network of 22 cemeteries and the Vila Alpina Crematorium was granted for 25 years to four consortia: Consolare, Cortel, Grupo Maya and Velar. The contracts require clean areas, mowed grass, free and sanitized restrooms, well-kept paths, legible signage and security.
The newspaper visited six cemeteries and the crematorium in October and returned to the same sites in early November. The worst situation the newspaper found was at Vila Nova Cachoeirinha, in the north zone, run by Cortel, where weeds made it impossible to locate graves and the women's restroom had no water in the sinks. The company said it had fixed the restroom and scheduled weeding, blamed part of the problems on rain and said exhumations follow a schedule with dates through January 2027 due to high volume.
At Vila Formosa, run by Consolare, the reporters found open graves and an excess of advertising for burial plots and funeral plans; the company said upkeep is daily and that it will review the ads. At São Pedro, run by Velar, Folha saw overgrown grass and only portable toilets, while the neighboring crematorium was clean; the operator cited the size of the area and the rain and promised six wake rooms in November.
At Consolação, home to the graves of Tarsila do Amaral and Monteiro Lobato, the reporters found a lack of signage and a broken main gate; Consolare said the gate's restoration is part of a plan approved by heritage agencies and that access is through a side entrance. The best-kept, according to the newspaper, was Campo Grande, run by Grupo Maya, in the south zone.
SP Regula, the city's regulatory agency, said the concession brought improvements, such as free burials for people registered in CadÚnico, the federal registry of low-income families, and that since October 2024 it has issued 75 fines and warnings for maintenance and upkeep failures. The agency also said it is investigating the situation of exhumations.