Milanez & Milaneze, the organizers of the 2017 edition of the Vitória Stone Fair / Marmo+Mac Latin America, cancelled the event on Feb. 10, just four days before its scheduled opening because of local unrest and concern for exhibitor and visitor safety. The announcement was made on the company’s website. According to the announcement, there had been multiple requests from exhibitors and visitors to cancel the event even though stands were already set up and many participants had already arrived.
Organizers of the event stated that the safety and integrity of the customers, exhibitors, visitors and service providers was of the utmost concern after a work stoppage of police patrols in the Brazilian state of of Espírito Santo, which includes Vitória. The stoppage had reportedly led to more than 130 deaths and Brazil’s government sent more than 3,000 troops to attempt to restore order to the area. Vitória public transportation, schools, clinics and many businesses had been closed during the week-long conflict.
The state’s Military Police, which is not actually a part of Brazil’s armed forces, was involved in a dispute with the Espírito Santo government regarding pay issues. Patrol cars were prevented from leaving by family members who surrounded the headquarters. This tactic is meant to bypass Brazilian law that prohibits police from going on strike. The response of the Espírito Santo officials was to threaten charges of insurrection against 703 police officers.
In a statement on the Folha Vitória website, Cecília Milanez Milaneze, company CEO said that although they recognize the importance of this international event, it will not be rescheduled this year.
