A River of Violence in Pandemic

War against COVID-19 adds to urban war in Rio de Janeiro

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazil, like the rest of the world, has turned its focus to it. The political ailments faced by the country, as well as the total lack of control on behalf of the president of the republic, continue to share space in the press with the growing number of dead. Unfortunately, these problems add up to other old ones, which are also far from a solution. Here, in this case, I remember the violence in the state of Rio de Janeiro, where police operations in slums are prohibited due to the pandemic. However, the data show another reality.

The death toll from shootings in the city grew 149% in January compared to the previous month, December 2020. The research is from the Fogo Cruzado data laboratory. Of the 206 people shot in January, 107 died, and 99 were injured. In December 2020, 43 were killed and 54 injured. According to the survey, during January, the state recorded 412 shootings and firearm shots, while in the previous month there were 306 exchanges of fire — an increase of 35%.

The growth in the number of shots is directly related to the model of confronting violence with violence, adopted by the state. A survey conducted by the Rio de Janeiro Security Observatory, revealed a 161% increase in deaths from police lethality if it compares the first two months of 2021 with the last two of 2020. It is worth mentioning that when comparing the first two months of 2020 with the from 2021, we also have an increase in police actions, and consequently in deaths in 2021.

“A sample of the culture of the extermination of people that the police think is linked to criminality”, this is the opinion of the researchers. It is worth mentioning that the out-of-state governor, Wilson Witzel, gave statements such as “the police will do the right thing: they will aim at the head and… Fire! Not to go wrong”. A clear reference to the indiscriminate use of violence in the repression by state forces.

All of this gets even worse if we consider the fact that the Supreme Federal Court (STF) determined in June 2020 that, as long as the pandemic continues, police operations in Rio’s communities can only be done in exceptional situations. To this end, they must be justified in writing and immediately communicated to the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro. The agency has a table showing, between June 14 and December 2, 242 shares. The month of October concentrated 61 of these actions, an average of 2 per day.

The measure remains in force. These figures drew the attention of the STF, which questioned the Rio Public Prosecutor’s Office about the huge number of exceptions to the rule. In response, the Ministry affirmed that it is up to the Military Police to judge the need for the actions. The explanation that legitimises the action of the security forces of Rio. Placing the population of the favelas in the middle of the war promoted by the state “against” violence, during the world war against COVID-19.

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