Brazilian Justice authorities are finally ready to ask the question that has echoed for so long all around the nation: who ordered the killing of Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco?
The symbol of human rights and feminism in Brazil was brutally murdered six years ago. On Sunday, March 24, well-known leaders of local politics in the state of Rio, Domingos Brazão and Chiquinho Brazão, as well as the state’s former police chief, Rivado Barbosa, were arrested on charges of being the masterminds behind the killing.
Not that Brazilian society is used to knowing who the perpetrators of violent deaths in the country usually are. Of every three homicides in Brazil, only one is solved, which makes the lack of answers the norm. Every year, at least 40,000 new families join the ranks of relatives of victims of violence. A huge group that, for the most part, remains hidden.
Under federal intervention
Marielle died on March 14, 2018. It was an atypical year in Brazil: public security in Rio de Janeiro was in the hands of high-ranking generals from the Brazilian army, appointed by then-president Michel Temer to “solve” the issue of public security in the state, due to an upsurge in violence. It was the so-called “Federal Intervention”, led by the then popular General Walter Braga Netto.
But his performance at the head of this mission failed miserably. Quickly, the use of military force in the fight against urban violence, combined with the lack of transparency in the actions of the general and his commanders on the streets of the state capital and neighboring cities, generated distrust in all segments of civil society.
That’s why at the beginning of March that year, the Center for Security and Citizenship Studies (CESeC), of which I am a member, launched the Intervention Observatory, an initiative that monitored the actions of the police and the armed forces with regard to the state’s public security on a daily basis, published data related to police operations, and brought civil society together to debate the direction of the fight against crime in Rio de Janeiro.
Marielle Franco took part in the observatory’s inaugural event and was willing to collaborate with the project in any way she could. A week later, she was brutally murdered.
Marielle’s death tore at the hearts of her family, friends and coworkers and put a whole section of the population on edge. Women, black people, those living in poorer areas and LGBT people who had Marielle as their representative and inspiration have now found themselves amid diffuse and dangerous violence. But the shooting of Marielle, led to huge demonstrations throughout Brazil and the world. Every March 14 was a day to celebrate Marielle’s life, but it was also a day to demand justice.
There were long months of waiting. In the first year, Domingos Brazão’s name was pointed out as being suspected of involvement. The advisor to the state court of auditors has a long history on the benches of legislative houses. He was a state deputy for four terms and was part of the “PMDB summit”, a group that became known for dominating politics in the state of Rio de Janeiro for more than a decade.
Degradation of institutions
In Brazil, families such as the Brazãos are powerful and regarded by many as having a level of impunity. But the arrest of the former head of the civil police, Rivaldo Barbosa, for allegedly attempting to hinder the investigations into the Marielle case, shocked people.
Rivaldo regularly appeared in the media to ask the public to trust in the work of the police, maintaining that he would solve Marielle’s murder. He visited the victim’s mother a few days after the murder and made emotional speeches, always appearing outraged by the crime and promising justice.
But now a federal police report that led to his arrest claims he not only guaranteed the impunity of a criminal group behind Marielle’s death, but that he also took part in planning the execution.
In Brazil, police officers and former police officers are the main killers for hire. They have inside knowledge of corporate structures and know the techniques to ensure that evidence of a crime is erased.
Police chief arrests
In recent years, four former civil police chiefs have been arrested in Rio de Janeiro. Unless there is institutional change, Rivaldo won’t be the last.
The claims made by the federal police do not dispel the doubts that remain about the case. Above all, the report that led to the arrest of Domingos and Chiquinho Brazão, as well as Rivaldo Barbosa, merely represents the beginning of the road towards justice.
But one thing is certain: it wasn’t the federal police report that brought things to this point. It was the family, friends and civil society who tirelessly demanded answers. Those answers may now start to arrive.