by Bianca Oliveira
Brazil’s largest gastronomic hub is facing bankruptcy amid a coronavirus pandemic. In the state of São Paulo, more than 50,000 bars and restaurants have already closed and the sector is one of the main generators of unemployment in the country.
Since March 20, 2020, non-essential establishments have operated with restrictions to stop the spread of Covid-19. According to the São Paulo Plan, the flexibility of the quarantine is regionalized and considers criteria such as contamination rate and availability of ICU beds. With the accelerated increase of infections in the beginning of 2021, the state governor, João Doria, decreed the return to the red phase, the most restrictive of the Plan. The news displeased the service sector, which predicts a loss of around 20,000 jobs in bars and restaurants. The president of the state council of the Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants (Abrasel-SP – Associação Brasileira de Bares e Restaurantes), Percival Maricato, estimates the bankruptcy of 300 establishments per day. “In 3 or 4 months there will be less than 20% of the sector. You reduce 80% of the economic sector, which is the largest employer.These unemployed people and small business people will have to survive in some way, informality will win ”, says Maricato in an interview to Dire News Agency.
Last week, restaurant owners, employees and associations of the sector organized demonstrations against the restrictions implemented by the revision of the São Paulo Plan phases. Participants are not against the punishment of establishments that violate health safety rules, but ask for greater flexibility and dialogue to continue operating within safety protocols. “There are 50 thousand establishments in the capital, few that disobey and the government, instead of going there to punish only those, punishes everyone”, explains the president of Abrasel-SP. The City Hall of São Paulo announced on balance that, in the last 10 months, 1.410 establishments were closed due to non-compliance with the quarantine rules. 71% of the total are bars, restaurants, coffee shops,