The once-charming and authentic neighborhood of Downtown Sao Paolo, Brazil known to locals as “Crackland” – and sometimes “Garbage Mouth” – has undergone a rapid gentrification as the area’s colorful population of crack cocaine addicts have found themselves getting cracked over the head by police sent by Mayor Ricardo Nunes to clean up the area, jailing at least 1,000 of the scamps, and threatening to beat the shit out of the ones they still encounter roaming the streets, the AP reports.

The sweep of Crackland – “Cracolandia” in Portuguese – is the signature initiative of Nunes and his ally in Sao Paolo state Governor Tarcisio De Freitas, who previously served as a minister in disgraced former President Jair Bolsonaro’s cabinet and is said to be eyeing a presidential run in 2026. Rivals see it as a play for political capital by ending Crackland, with the next phase a $900 million project to relocate about 60 state government buildings to the area where empty crackhouses still stand.

“It is not right to make political propaganda to say Crackland disappeared,” said local Catholic priest Julio Lancelotti. “Crackland is not a physical area, it’s about people,” he continued, making an important point about the unique spirit of the area: Crackland isn’t just a place, but a state of mind that can’t just be bulldozed by some ambitious politician looking to make a name for himself.