In the document, the group asks the president to personally take command of a Special Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic to coordinate security actions in the State
Concerned about the developments of the highly lethal police operation in the Penha and Alemão complexes, in Rio de Janeiro — which left 121 dead, including four police officers —, five former Ministers of Justice and 19 jurists and politicians sent this Thursday (6) an open letter to the president (PT). In the document, the group asks that the president personally take command of a Special Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic to coordinate security actions in the State.
The proposal is that the new Secretariat coordinates the Union’s security, intelligence and operations forces in cooperation with the state government, and also prepares the creation of a future Ministry of Public Security, foreseen in Lula’s government program. The text is signed by former ministers Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, José Carlos Dias, Miguel Reale Jr., Nelson Jobim — who served under Fernando Henrique Cardoso — and Tarso Genro, former minister in the Lula government.
In the letter, the signatories state that the operation in Rio was “poorly prepared and poorly explained” and that it put “the State Police structures in confrontation with the entire resident population, and not just with criminal factions”. They highlight that the confrontation policy “has reached a new limit of loss of life”, with 117 civilians and four police officers killed, according to official data.
The former ministers criticize what they call “war policy” and emphasize that “having a criminal record is not a summary license to eliminate any individual”. For them, systematic police raids have proven ineffective and reinforce the parallel power of the factions, instead of weakening them.
The group also expresses concern about the fact that the Rio government has not requested support from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, which, according to the former ministers, has been available to collaborate with the States. “The government of Rio de Janeiro decided to act in isolation, causing a catastrophe of historic dimensions and consequences that have not yet been measured”, says the text.
Jurists warn that the crisis could spread to other states and defend the creation of a National Program to Combat Criminal Factions, with actions to retake dominated territories and cut funding for organizations, in reference to Operation Hidden Carbon, which revealed a money laundering scheme linked to organized crime. In the end, the group states that “organized crime will not put Brazilian democracy at risk”, but can only be combated “with correct and intelligent coping strategies”. And he concludes: “You have full legitimacy and popular support to lead them.”
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
