The police operation that killed 132 people in Rio de Janeiro’s Peña and Alemao districts on October 28, ravaging favelas, is setting the stage for the political showdown that will dominate elections a year from today.
The conservative governor of Rio state, Claudio Castro, a day after the end of a bloody operation targeting the Comando Vermelho gang – which controls the drug trade in several favelas – spoke of a “success” and declared a “major blow” against drug dealers. , he added and underlined that although the assistance of the federal authorities was requested, they did not satisfy the request.
Minister of Justice: The operation was extremely bloody and violent
The country’s government denies that it was informed, with the justice minister describing the operation as extremely bloody and violent.
“We have to ask ourselves if these kinds of actions are compatible with the rule of law that governs us all,” he said. Through Platform X, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva responded in a mild tone to Castro: “Coordinated action is needed that targets the backbone of drug trafficking, without endangering police officers, children and innocent families.”
The issue so central to Brazil’s fight against organized violence will become increasingly politicized as the country counts down to elections next October.
The parties that support the re-election of Lula show the Far Right and the environment of the former president Jair Bolsonaro, eh, on the one hand to expose the government and on the other hand to prejudge the public debate, mobilizing the devotees of the strictest “line” in the fight against crime.
From the perspective of Castro and the hardline wing of the broader Right, the problem is central authority’s reluctance to allocate adequate resources. “Rio is on its own,” he said before giving the “green light” for the operation and echoing US President Donald Trump’s motto of “narco-terrorists”.
The debate surrounding the weakening of organized crime and public safety coincides with an increase in gang violence in Brazil, especially in the north and the Amazon side of the country (in contrast to the rest of the territory where there is a decrease).
The open war of the USA with Venezuela – Colombia
Last Tuesday’s deadly operation took place in the midst of open war between the US president and his counterparts in Venezuela and Colombia, with Donald Trump even leaving open the possibility of a ground attack in the case of Caracas, “pointing” to these countries as being responsible for the increased flow of the drug fentanyl into the US.
Trump’s good relations with Bolsonaro are another “thorn” on the road to the 2026 elections in Brazil since, as Washington’s loan to President Javier Millay’s Argentina showed, the US president does not shy away from interventions in the US’s “backyard” countries.
As for the real impact of the operation in Rio, the InsightCrime think tank, which specializes in recording and studying organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, is critical, noting that Brazil leads the list of killings by police, with 6,393 in 2023, the latest year of recording. And he points out that people of African descent are three times more likely to be victimized by the police.
