Brazil Marks 25 Years since Candelaria Massacre with an Expanded White Police State

The burden of losing four consecutive elections turned Brazil’s elites inside out. They would resort to, as an efficient yet obvious mode of attack, all out lawfare, stirring their already agitated base along the way.

Julian Cola
By Julian Cola

RIO DE JANEIRO --  “I don’t believe Brazil is made for change. Returning to my country, though I’d like to, is something that will take a long time, if it’s ever possible one day.” The date was July 22, 2013. The blighted hope, part of a letter written by Wagner dos Santos, a survivor of the Candelaria Massacre in central Rio de Janeiro. Twenty

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Interview: Western-Trained Brazilian Troops Deepen Nightmare for Homeless Women of Rio

Thirty days into the army intervention in Rio and it has become clear that the situation has only worsened. Military operations are concentrated in the favelas, amplifying the use of repression against the poor, black population. So many beautiful lives are lost.

Julian Cola
By Julian Cola
Mounted military police patrol in the Paraisopolis slum of Sao Paulo, Brazil, early Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

RIO DE JANEIRO (Interview) -- Brazil’s federal government, led by President Michel Temer, gave the green light for a military takeover of all police duties in the state of Rio de Janeiro on February 16. His justification for the move? The restoration of law and order. Criminal gangs and violence had, in his words, “virtually taken over,” and

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Death of Marielle Franco Shines Light on the White Collar Criminals Running Brazil

White-collar criminals in Brasília are ruling the country. Drug lords, paramilitaries, death squads, military police, and now also the army are terrorizing the population in the slums and the suburbs.

MintPress News Desk
By MintPress News Desk

Marielle was a child of the slums of Rio de Janeiro. She was black, beautiful, young and charismatic. She studied sociology and had an MA in public administration. She was a feminist, LGBT+, Black and human rights activist. Elected on a progressive agenda, she was an active councilwoman of the city of Rio de Janeiro since 2016. She was assassinated

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Suspicious Murder of Anti-Police Brutality Activist Sparks Large Protests In Brazil

Bearing all the hallmarks of an execution, the attack has sent shockwaves through Brazil including social media.

Fernanda Canofre
By Fernanda Canofre
Marielle Franco speaking at a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016. Photo: Mídia Ninja/Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0

Less than two hours before she was murdered on the evening of March 14, Rio de Janeiro city councillor Marielle Franco was speaking at a roundtable of black women activists about “young black women moving the structures”. As Franco was leaving the site, a car pulled up to the side of her own vehicle and fired nine shots into it. Franco and her

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The Murder of Black-Activist Marielle Franco Marks Brazil’s Return to a Dictatorial Past

The tragic death of Marielle Franco, a black activist against violence in Rio, and a city councilor, fuels fears that the current militarization of security in Brazil is the prelude to a return to its dictatorial past.

Eduarda Fontes
By Eduarda Fontes
A woman stands near a banner featuring councilwoman Marielle Franco at the entrance of City Hall where thousands have gathered to pay their respects to the slain 38-year-old and her driver Anderson Pedro Gomes who were both gunned down the night before by two unidentified attackers, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, March 15, 2018. (AP/Leo Correa)

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece for DemocraciaAbierta, following this year’s political carnival in Rio where I reflected on resistance against –and repression from—the Brazilian government, and on how challenging the times that lay ahead were. Unfortunately, shortly afterwards, I am here writing again in the wake of this tragedy that

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Israel’s Apartheid Policies Create Hurdles For Team Palestine On The Road To Rio

From blocked shipments of equipment to a lack of access to Olympic-sized, or even just adequate, training facilities, the six athletes of Team Palestine have overcome the odds to compete in the 2016 Games.

Claire Bernish
By Claire Bernish
Mayada Al-Sayed carries the flag of Palestine during the opening ceremony for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016.

RIO DE JANEIRO --- Under the stifling conditions of the Israeli occupation, Palestinians who dreamed of competing in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro faced challenges few other world athletes could even imagine, but with perseverance and ingenuity, six are now living their Olympic dreams. Though most of the Palestinian Olympic team -- a

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