The activities represent a law against the division of land in Espao Cincia

Image: Disclosure.

Sunday (27th) is packing day in Espaço Ciência. Organized by civil society organizations, the event is a protest against the donation of 8,200 square meters of the museum’s built-up area to a private foundation. The activity will take place in the space they are trying to distort, where astronomy and astronautics propagation activities usually take place. From 1pm onwards there will be pet bottle rocketing, kite flying, and sunwatching.

Participants will also be able to make their own posters in defense of the museum, as well as learn about the equipment installed in the area: Xavante Plane, VLS-Satellite launch vehicle model, gyroscope, among others.

By urgent action, without dialogue with residents and those affected by the decision, Act 17940, passed by the state government, was approved by the legislature on October 21. It donates 8,200 square meters of the land built for the museum to the Agency for Economic Development of Pernambuco – ADEPE, for the installation of a private company data center connected by submarine fiber optic cables.

To the press, the Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation has claimed that the Espaço Ciência region will be the only possible outlet for undersea cables that will increase internet speed in the state. Not what the experts say. Not only are there other crossing points for the cables, but it would also be possible for the output of those cables to be at a location far away from the data center, where information is processed and content stored for the various technology companies.

“We are not against the arrival of submarine cables in Pernambuco. Quite the opposite. What we do not accept is any interference or destruction of a museum project of public interest, which serves more than 120,000 visitors every year free of charge”, says the Director of Espaço Ciência, Antonio Carlos Pavao.

The government also claims that another district, of similar size, will be given to Espaço Ciência as a counterpart. However, this is not just an exchange of one land for another. The place they intend to donate is part of a museum project developed with the participation of local and international consultants, based on contributions from Pearl Marx, and where the investment has been made for many years. Pavao asks, “Why don’t they build the data center on the land they want to hand over to us?”

The discussion about this pledge will not come from now. Espaço Ciência even received visits from groups from the Recife Investors Consortium, but she always made her position clear, as evidenced by the response to Adepe’s technical note, sent by the museum on May 22, months before the law was sent to ALEPE:

“With regard to ADEPE Technical Note No. 022/2022 (…), we have made it clear that in the “Areas Negotiations” we have not agreed at any time with the “transfer to SAD/PE” of the total area of ​​8,266.01 square meters for the “planting Economic project. Our approval only refers to allocating a certain area to house the submarine fiber optic cable reception, which is quite far from the total area allotment.”