Message of Solidarity with the Brazilian People
With sorrow and indignation, we, the editors and
collaborators of the journal Latin American Perspectives (University of
California, Riverside) learned of the murder of councilwoman Marielle Franco,
of the Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (PSOL) of Brazil, on the night of March
14, in downtown Rio de Janeiro. In 2016, Marielle Franco was the fifth largest
vote recipient in the city, obtaining 46,000 votes.
A few days before her murder, Marielle Franco was appointed
rapporteur of the Parliamentary Commission to monitor the military intervention
that since February 16 has prevailed over public security in the state of Rio.
On February 28, the councilwoman published on her Facebook profile: "We
take a stand and are against this intervention. It is a farce, with electoral
objectives. We will occupy this space fulfilling our oversight role, as a
municipal legislator. " One day before she was murdered, she protested on
her Twitter account, "How many more must die for this war to end?"
The military intervention in Rio de Janeiro was the toughest measure of Michel
Temer's government in the election year of 2018.
Born poor and black in the Maré Favela, Marielle broke
several barriers to study Social Sciences at the Pontifical Catholic University
of Rio de Janeiro. In 2014, she received her Master's degree in Administration
at the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), where she criticized the Units of
Police Pacification (UPP) and a public security policy that was unable to
reduce murders and violence. Marielle worked for ten years with state deputy
Marcelo Freixo (PSOL-RJ), a Brazilian leftist politician who became world-famous
when he was depicted as a character in the film Tropa de Elite (by José
Padilha), as a human rights activist against "militias" (gangs of
corrupt police officers who act violently in their territories with electoral
purposes).
Marielle Franco was active in feminist and LGBT causes, in
the struggle against police violence, in combating the genocide of black youth
and in defending social equality. She used her office as a tribune on behalf of
the oppressed sectors of the Brazilian society. Recognized for genuine
leadership, the councilwoman daily denounced the abuses of military power. The
crime of which she was the victim has all the characteristics of an execution.
Her murder further weakens the credibility of the current
Brazilian government. Latin American
Perspectives shares the concerns of the United Nations, Amnesty
International, and Human Rights Watch in favor of independent investigation of
the case and joins the outcry of the population that has massively demonstrated
in the streets of the major cities of the country in search of justice. So that
the history of impunity reported by the National Commission of the Truth of
Brazil is not repeated, we offer our solidarity.
Riverside, March 16, 2018.
