Drugs & Race

Soldiers and cops occupied the Favela da Rocinha in 2017 to execute prison warrants against drug dealers. There is a scene in the classic TV show The Wire in which Major Colvin says: “ I mean, you call something a war and pretty soon everybody gonna be running around acting like warriors. They gonna be running around on a damn crusade, storming corners, slapping on cuffs, racking up body counts. And when you are at war, you need a fucking enemy. And pretty soon, damn near everybody on every corner is your fucking enemy. And soon the neighbourhood that you're supposed to be policing, that's just occupied territory.” Source: Wikimedia Commons/Author: Fernando Frazao

The police confront the residents of the Cracolandia neighborhood in 2019. Residents are frequently harassed by the police and must deal with military-like interventions in their neighbourhood. Photo: Yandry_kw

Bolsonaro poses with the symbol of the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE in the Portuguese acronym) of the Military Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro in August 2020. It might be one of those strange coincidences that happen in Brazil, but the BOPE symbol bears a gruesome resemblance to the emblem of the paramilitary death squad Scuderie Detetive Le Cocq, formed in 1965 in Rio de Janeiro. BOPE was established in 1978. Also coincidentally, one of the paramilitaries who assassinated councilwoman Marielle Franco, former BOPE officer Ronnie Lessa, was officialy registered in Scuderie Detetive Le Cocq ranks. Lessa and Bolsonaro lived in the same condominium in Rio de Janeiro, and his daughter dated one of the president’s sons. Source: Palácio do Planalto/Author: Marcos Correa.