Marielle Franco: Brazil’s favelas mourn the death of a champion

The shooting of a black, gay councillor has dealt a new blow to communities oppressed by gangsThe morning after tens of thousands of people thronged streets across Brazil to express their anger over the murder of black, gay Rio councillor Marielle Franco, it was business as usual in the Maré favela where she grew up. Armed drug gang members openly patrolled behind a police base.The favela is hidden from the roaring highway that connects the nearby international airport to Rio’s centre by an opaque plastic fence. Authorities call it an “acoustic barrier”. Local people scoff and say it is there to hide their ramshackle but vibrant community from tourists, noting that in front of the nearby new schools the fence is transparent. It is symptomatic of how Brazilian authorities see the favelas that house almost a quarter of Rio’s population: as places to be hidden, abandoned to gangs, and occasionally invaded by police in armoured cars who don’t care who gets killed in the crossfire. Continue reading…
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