Brasilia, September 13 (RHC)-- More than 6,000 people of Brazil's Movement of Homeless Workers, MTST, have occupied a park in Sao Bernardo do Campo to demand access to decent housing.

The occupation has grown from 500 people since it first rallied under the banner of the "Fearless People of Sao Bernardo" last week. Guilherme Boulos, the coordinator of the movement, said the occupation will pressure city hall to open a channel of negotiation and will not reintegrate until the demands are met. The occupied area is abandoned and is under a court dispute.

President Michel Temer's neo-liberal policies have forced thousands of families to live in extreme poverty. Thousands of families belonging to the MTST have settled on the outskirts of Sao Paulo to demand access to decent and affordable housing.

The MTST was established in the late 1990s as a way to unite working class people who lacked access to decent housing and lived in areas located at the outskirts of major cities and towns.