The favelas of Rio de Janeiro, hubs of the Brazilian urban underclass, represent some of the poorest, most repressive, and most desperate conditions in the world. Perceived as an area rife with disease, illiteracy, and political radicalism, the reactionary Brazilian junta of the 60’s and 70’s made efforts to eradicate these communities, which satisfied the demands of real estate agents set on gentrification and commercialization. These policies led to the forced removal, homelessness, and violation of the most basic human rights of communities consisting mostly of descendants of African slaves. Before these government relocation programs ultimately ceased, over 140,000 favela residents had been displaced. Unfortunately, strife in the favelas continued unabated. The 80’s and 90’s saw the rise of drug trafficking that led to skyrocketing levels of violence, which overwhelming targeted non-white youths in the city. Rio de Janiero’s police force became infamous for using extreme, indiscriminate force frequently to repress and harass the most vulnerable members of the community with little accountability or oversight. Civilians in these slums describe living in a constant crossfire between drug cartels and the Rio police.
In 2008, Rio de Janeiro launched the Pacifying Police Units program, which was designed to retake the city from drug gangs. This has led to the creation of over 26 community-policing bases that have come to occupy almost the entirety of the cities favelas. While reducing drug related crime, the program has seen the slums of Rio become occupied states: the police are a constant presence in the lives of everyday civilians and continue to face little accountability for their actions. In 2017, police killed over 1000 people in Rio de Janiero, with a disproportionate number of the dead being from the favelas.
Enter Marielle Franco. Born in 1979 to a poor African family in the favela of Maré, Franco became a political activist after one of her friends was killed by a stray police bullet. She obtained a Master’s in Public Administration from the Fluminense Federal University. Her master’s thesis on the UPP (otherwise known as the Pacifying Police Units program) criticized the large human cost of the program, claiming that “the police state is aimed at repression and control of the poor.” An outspoken critic of police violence and a strong proponent of human and civil rights, Franco became the consultant of prominent anti-corruption legislator Marcelo Freixo, whose investigations into politicians’ connections with drug traffickers led to frequent death threats and periodic forced exiles to Europe. Ultimately, Franco ran on the PSOL (Socialism and Liberty Party) ticket to become a member of Rio de Janiero’s city council, an almost unheard-of achievement for a black woman in Brazil. Her entire career became a symbol of defiance against a political establishment of older white men that had dominated a racially diverse city for decades.
Further challenging the political order, Franco ferociously opposed military intervention by President Michel Temer in Rio de Janeiro. Installed undemocratically after the politically motivated impeachment of his predecessor Dilma Rousseff, Temer currently faces single-digit approval ratings as well as repeated legislative failure. Perceiving a potential upsurge in violence during Carnival, as well as an opportunity to distract the public from his own incompetency, Temer ordered the military to take over all security operations within Rio. On February 28th, 2018, Franco officially became the head of a commission tasked with monitoring abuses perpetuated by said direct military intervention.
On Wednesday, March 14, 2018, Marielle Franco was returning from an event entitled “Black Women Changing Power Structures,” when a black Cobalt-model car pulled up beside her and fired 13 bullets into her vehicle. Despite being behind tinted window, she was shot 9 times, 4 times in the head. Her driver, Anderson Gomes, also was killed, though her press secretary, also in the car, survived. Rio’s Homicide Division stated that the shooters were experienced and that ““It is far too soon to say, but we are obviously looking at this as a murder in response to her political work ….” Because there appeared to be no attempt to take valuables from the car, the Homicide Division discounted the possibility that this was a robbery. Even more suspiciously, the bullets used to carry out the shooting were from a stock sold to Brazil’s Federal Police in 2006. While it is unknown who exactly is responsible for the death of Franco, it seems likely that elements of the police are complicit. Furthermore, this likely political assassination sends a message of fear and intimidation to all who would challenge the Brazilian police state.
Despite its intended consequences, Franco’s murder sparked a firestorm amongst the Brazilian left and the marginalized in the favelas. Massive protests against police brutality began the day after, focusing on a perceived genocide of the African community in Brazil. Mass mobilization among the population demanded that the event attract significant media attention and even a comment from the president. While the Brazilian media regards her death as a tragedy, they are quick to whitewash her as one who believes in (unspecified) human rights, careful to de-emphasize her opposition to the police and existing power structures and instead focus on how the “increased violence” in Rio de Janiero merits even greater funding for the military presence in the city. Even if the media and political establishment willfully discount the police’s role in this tragedy, those who live in the favelas know better. Inhabitants of these belittled slums see Franco simply as the latest victim in an organized campaign designed to eradicate their livelihood, dignity, and very identity.
Thousands of young people of color were reminded, once again, that should they attempt to achieve social, political, and economic justice, they would be painting a target on their backs. And yet, it is clear that when they become most cognizant of this danger, do they most willingly plunge into the fray, hoping for change. We can hope, then, that the continued efforts, risks, and sacrifices of those willing to follow in Franco’s footsteps will bring justice not simply for Marielle, but for the underclass that she had spent her whole life fighting for. Marielle leaves behind a partner, a teenage daughter, and, in the hearts of the oppressed, the courage to challenge power.