by John Fitzpatrick

The outburst of violence which broke out in São Paulo on May 12 and led to the death of over 160 people within a week highlighted the feebleness of the Brazilian state and its political leadership. Not a single politician at federal, state or municipal level stepped forward to confront this blatant attack by the PCC criminal organization. Not one politician gave comfort or courage to the frightened people of São Paulo. While the security forces took the brunt of the casualties, with around 40 deaths, innocent civilians were also killed as the gangs attacked soft targets like buses, metro stations and banks. After the initial shock, the police unleashed the dogs of war and took a savage revenge. Just as the politicians failed to cope with the crisis so they have failed to cope with the after-effects and it is the inhabitants of the favelas - the innocent as well as guilty - who are paying the price.

The state governor, Claudio Lembo, denied that the police were carrying out summary killings and said every death would be investigated. "Nothing like that is happening at all. The word of the people who say this is not worth that of the police as a whole..All these deaths occurred in battles. The strangest things happen in São Paulo during the night," he said. It is impossible to accept comments like this seriously. Anyone who lives here knows that, even in normal circumstances, the Brazilian police shoot first and ask questions later. Going on the rampage would be their natural response to the loss of so many of their colleagues.

Body Count
It is not only human rights activists who are complaining about what is happening. The Estado de S. Paulo newspaper had an editorial on May 18 in which it said the violence of the attacks had justified the police response. Two days later, when it was obvious that the police were overreacting, the paper published another editorial saying public support for the police should not be unconditional and only legitimate self-defense could justify police killing.

The paper also ran a long story on May 20 under the headline "The question: how many innocent deaths" in which it pointed out that 85 bodies had been delivered to city morgues. Of these, 17 had not been identified and would be buried as unknown vagrants. The paper said some relatives had not claimed the bodies as they were afraid they would become targets for the police. Some of the bodies are reported to have shown signs of being shot in the head, heart and back.at close range  A doctor in one hospital was quoted as saying that a policeman had told him on Wednesday evening that the police were about to invade a favela and that he would be back later "and bring lots of dead people for you".

Lula Turns His Back on the Victims...
Other politicians kept a low profile. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose home base is São Paulo, kept away. He merely offered to provide federal forces and sent the justice minister to talk to Lembo. A couple of days later Lula tried to pin the blame on previous governments, saying that if some of the gangster had been educated properly they would not have turned to crime. Lula did not attend any of the funerals of the murdered policemen nor did he visit any of the places where violence occurred. Nor did he set foot in a favela to show some solidarity with the people living there whose lives are in the hands of murdering drugs traffickers and vengeful policemen.

Constitutionally, Lula could justify this hands-off approach by pointing out that the state government and not the federal government is responsible for security. However, his natural constituency consists of those at the bottom end of society and he has a moral duty to look after them, even if only through a symbolic visit. Instead, he was traveling all over the country telling crowds how marvelous he and his government were

Geraldo Alckmin, who stood down as state governor recently to run for the presidency and handed power over to Lembo, also kept quiet, knowing that security has always been the main weak point in his track record. Not only is São Paulo one of the most violent places on earth but its prisons are practically run by the inmates and riots and rebellions are routine. The fact that the latest violence was coordinated from within the prisons shows this clearly. One of the few concrete moves the authorities have taken has been to block cellular phones frequencies around the prisons. This is unlikely to solve the problem in the long term since the prison service is inefficient and the police service corrupt. The PCC launched the attack because it had learned of imminent police action against its leaders from a conversation of top security officials which had been taped secretly. This tape was made by a worker who said he had been asked to do so by lawyers acting for gang members who had paid him R$200 - about US$100. 

The other heavyweight São Paulo politician, Jose Serra, was in the United States during the violence as was former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Like Alckmin, Serra gave up his post (as mayor of São Paulo) to contest the state governorship election in October. Like Alckmin, he handed over power to his deputy, an unknown lightweight called Gilberto Kassab. While the city was griped by violence and fear on Monday May 15, with schools, universities, shops, factories and offices closing down, Kassab was nowhere to be seen. Politicians in other states and big cities also kept quiet since they knew that violence like this can easily spread and they did not want to raise the pitch.

As usual, the people were left to defend themselves. The middle classes retreated to their high-rise apartments with private security at the entrances and the upper classes to their barricaded houses and mansions. The poorer classes locked their doors and waited for the fire next time. The failure of the state to reassure the population is a victory for the criminals. Despite their losses, they will regroup and come back. We can be sure of one thing - this was not a one-off affair.

© John Fitzpatrick 2006