Without Police, Rio’s Drug Lords Show Who Are the Bosses in the Favelas

After the Brazilian government spent tens of millions of dollars securing the city of Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympics, the drug gangs they were trying to keep at bay have retaken control of the streets just six months later.

Renata, a resident of a favela (a slum, or low-income urban area) called Rocinha, said that police have turned a blind eye to illegal activity, telling CBC News:

“Police used to patrol the streets, but they don’t anymore. They stick to the main roads… There are places where people will sit and openly sell marijuana and coke. The police don’t go there.”

Brazil was already in dire financial straits when it took on the US$ 12 billion Olympic project, with the Senate passing a 20-year cap on social spending to cut corners. Proposed by President Michel Temer, the restrictions will limit funding on policing, housing, health, education and other sectors.

Tremendous debt and slashed social services resulting from the 2015 recession have kneecapped the country’s ability to curb organized crime and the organizations that facilitate it. Robert Muggah, public security director at the Igarapé think thank, suggested “that many of the factions see opportunity in Rio.”

Gangs are cashing in on Rio’s cocaine industry, as it is the site of one of the most profitable markets for the drug in the world. In the years leading up to the financial crisis the drug was being consumed chiefly by Brazil’s middle class.

Lack of funding leaves police ill-equipped to deal with gangs, although officers are still present in the favelas, along with state and military police who are still on strike in some areas, protesting low or inconsistent wages.

Temer recently ordered 9,000 soldiers to help secure Rio in response to the strike, as a crime wave erupted in the state of Espírito Santo. Defense Minister Raul Jungmann said at the time, “We have protests here, but that has not stopped police from working.”

Prazeres resident Gabriel said of his favela, which is under the control of the Comando Vermelho (CV) gang, “the police have a small area where they stay, but the rest is dominated by the criminals… They patrol where they are allowed to patrol by the gang. There’s an agreement: they go where they are allowed, or there are shootouts.”

Sputnik News

Tags:

You May Also Like

Terreirada Cearense Carnaval Block in Rio - Fernando Frazão/ABr

Brazilian Justice Bans Carnaval Group for Celebrating Dictatorship and Torture

Dubbed “the world’s biggest party,” Brazil’s Carnaval is officially underway and this year’s festivities ...

Mother and children asking for refuge in the US.

Brazil Should Press Trump to Stop Cruel Treatment of Immigrant Children

The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that 55 Brazilian children are among the ...

Houses from the My Home, My Life program being built

Brazil Cuts Poverty, But Human Rights Are Still a Serious Problem

Virtually all of the 169 recommendations made to Brazil by the UN Human Rights ...

The murder of councilwoman Marielle in Rio shocked Brazil and the world

Marielle’s Murder in Rio Is Also a Blow to Those Fighting for Better Times

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece for DemocraciaAbierta, following this year’s ...

A prison in Brazil - Wilson Dias/ABr

Gang Country: In This Brazilian Prison Guards Do Not Enter

Brazil’s representatives had to explain at a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human ...

Brazilian congressman Jean Wyllys - Photo by Mídia NINJA/Wikipedia

Citing Death Threats, Gay Congressman Leaves Brazil to Undisclosed Country

A prominent gay congressman in Brazil announced that he was leaving his job and ...

Brazil’s Prison Riot: The Unspeakable Pain of Burying Your Beheaded Child

The prison massacre in Alcaçuz Penitentiary on January 14, which killed at least 26 ...

Prisoners get medical after a rebellion at the Colônia Agroindustrial prison in Goiânia

Nine Killed, Two Decapitated, 100 escape, in Brazil’s Latest Prison Riot

At least nine people have died in clashes between rival gangs in one of ...

Slave work in Brazil is far from over

New Labor Rules Will Make Slave Work Still More Common in Brazil

Victims of slave labor in Brazil are less likely to be rescued following a ...