por Yashenka Baca
La activista de
Dona Zao Vieira ended a 16-day hunger strike.
Occupy Wall Street activist in San Francisco and Oakland, Dona Zao Vieira, ended her 16-day hunger strike, which started on March 21st to protest losing her home to what she calls “illegal and fraudulent mortgage practices” used by Wells Fargo Bank.
Vieira started actions after losing her home in Reno, Nevada due to a foreclosure by Wells Fargo, accused by her for scam. During 16 days Vieira carried out a vigil from Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 1 pm.. outside Attorney General Kamala D. Harris’s office in Golden Gate Avenue 455, San Francisco.
“The goal of my hunger strike is not to ruin my health, but to highlight the urgency in which Attorney General Kamala, D. Harris, needs to act on behalf of all the homeowners. I am doing this for my family, to portray our seven year struggle against the systemic and intentional fraud that Wells Fargo perpetrated against us”, Vieira indicated in a press release. On day 9 of her hunger strike, Vieira decided to enter the Attorney General’s office, together with activist Beth Kean, to enquiry if there was an answer to the letter of explanation that she handed in at that office during her first day of fasting.
The activist reported that two staff from the Attorney General’s office came to talk to them. Vieira indicated that the staff showed concern about her health. The activist said that she was told that one of the attorneys at that office called Wells Fargo in December and requested them to talk to her about her foreclosure, but the bank didn’t show any interest.
According to Vieira, the main goal of her hunger strike was to know why or why not and when there would be a trial on Wells Fargo for offering mortgages with predatory practices. She noted that although the Attorney’s office has been reviewing mortgage issues for four years, Frances Grunder, the Attorney General’s Executive Assistant, explained that all the investigations are confidential until closed, so they couldn’t confirm whether Wells Fargo is one of the banks under investigation, or if any other of the so-called banks “too big to fall” are under scrutiny by the attorneys. Vieira insisted in calling the attention on the “corrupt financial and judicial system, under which the homeowners continue to suffer unfairly (…)
The people’s Attorney needs to act to judge the banks too big to fall. This is the only way to prevent future financial crises”, she concluded.
