Brazil deploys 300 troops to fight surge in criminal violence
Recent wave of attacks marks first security challenge for Jair Bolsonaro
Brazil on Sunday deployed 300 security forces to the northeastern state of Ceará in response to a recent surge in criminal violence, marking the first security challenge for Jair Bolsonaro, the country’s new far-right president.
Outrage over rising violence was a decisive factor for many voters in the election of the former army captain, who pledged to crack down on crime and loosen gun control laws.
Sérgio Moro, the justice and public security minister, ordered the deployment of elite troops after a string of attacks last week, which targeted banks, shops and buses. “The decision was made after the recorded violence and the difficulty [faced by] local forces fighting organised crime alone”, the ministry said in a note.
“Moro was very skilled, very quick and effective to attend [to] even a state whose re-elected governor has a radical position [against] us,” Mr Bolsonaro said on Friday, referring to governor Camilo Santana, who belongs to the leftist Workers’ party.
Security experts say Mr Bolsonaro intends to authorise greater involvement of Brazil’s national forces in domestic security operations, especially when it comes to drug-trafficking gangs.
Brazil has faced a sharp deterioration in public security in recent years, due, in part, to recession-induced budget crises across regional governments.
According to the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook, a record 63,880 people were murdered in Brazil in 2017 — and Mr Bolsonaro himself suffered a near-fatal stabbing at a campaign rally ahead of the election last year.
The Ceará attacks are allegedly retaliation for tougher measures in local prisons, which are generally controlled by criminal gangs that operate across the country. Last year, Ceará saw more violent deaths — 59 per 100,000 people — than any other state, according to the Brazilian Forum on Public Security.
Mr Bolsonaro said on Sunday, referring to the killing of a military police officer in Rio the day before, that the three branches of government must work together “to provide guarantees for good to overcome evil”. He said that his government wants to provide extra legal cover for police officers so that they are not punished for killings committed during patrols.
In a country already awash with guns, Mr Bolsonaro said that he wants to guarantee possession of firearms for the “good people” to defend themselves against threats.
Observers say that loosening gun laws, as Mr Bolsonaro has proposed, will not effectively address Brazil’s violent crime problem.
“There is no empirical evidence that these policies can reduce crime,” said Nara Pavão, a professor of political science at the Federal University of Pernambuco.
But Mr Bolsonaro’s gun-loving son and congressman, Eduardo, declared on Twitter at the weekend that he does not “see with much concern” in giving ordinary Brazilians “access to firearms, since people who want to murder, steal and commit gun crimes already have access to them”.
Posting pictures of Adolf Hitler, Fidel Castro and Mao Zedong, among other dictators, he added that “only dictators disarmed their people”.