A atuação da Defensoria Pública da União no acesso à justiça e a garantia do direito à moradia: desafios e perspectivas

Abstract

In the present study, the importance of the Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU) is investigated, as well as how its actions can contribute to access to justice and the realization of the right to housing for vulnerable populations. The choice of this topic is based on experiences obtained during an internship at the Regional Office of the DPU in João Pessoa/PB and supported by theories of access to justice, such as those proposed by Mauro Cappelletti and Bryant Garth, which discuss the need for institutional mechanisms to guarantee fundamental rights. The research aims to analyze, through two case studies, how the DPU acts in the defense of the right to housing. One of the cases focuses on the individual assistance provided by the DPU to Maria, a victim of property violence and eviction threats, where the intervention of the DPU was crucial to ensuring dignified housing. In the other case, the DPU’s role in protecting the collective right to housing in the "Comunidade do Plástico" in Cabedelo/PB, threatened by evictions after a lawsuit filed by the Brazilian Urban Train Company, is examined. The methodology used in this work includes an empirical approach, highlighting the defense strategies presented by the DPU both in extrajudicial and judicial spheres in the cases analyzed, as well as the impact of the actions of this institution, which defends the individual and collective rights of the disadvantaged and vulnerable. The results indicate that, despite limited resources, the DPU plays a fundamental role in defending the rights of the most vulnerable, promoting not only access to justice but also the right to housing. In conclusion, the DPU is not only an essential institution for the judicial function of the State but also a "constitutional cornerstone" in the defense of fundamental rights, making its strengthening crucial to meet the growing demand from the population, promote equality, and reduce inequalities.