Is Brazil returning to military rule?
Army forces to take control in Rio as gang crime rises
The Brazilian army is to take over security in Rio de Janeiro following a violent crime spree that marred the city’s famous carnival celebrations last week.
It is the “first intervention of the armed forces since Latin America’s largest country returned to democracy three decades ago”, following 21 years of military dictatorship, says the Financial Times.
Signing the decree on Friday, President Michel Temer admitted the move was “extreme”, but said organised crime has almost taken over Rio. “It is a metastasis that spreads around the country,” Temer said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The measure, which will be in place until the end of the year, “is a response to growing demands ahead of the October general elections for a crackdown on crime and violence”, says Bloomberg.
Robberies and gunfights during the Rio Carnival, followed by a storm that killed four and caused further chaos, “have heightened a sense that the city is slipping out of control”, says The Guardian.
Although this will be the first time the army has taken full control of a Brazilian city’s security since the country introduced a new constitution in 1988, there was a military occupation of a Rio favela in 2014-15.
The latest security move could affect the outcome of this year’s election, according to Robert Muggah, of security think-tank Igarape Institute. With Temer’s popularity in the single-digits, “a ‘tough on crime’ approach plays well with the public”, Muggah told the FT.
However, Mauricio Santoro, a political scientist at Rio de Janeiro State University, told the newspaper that the security situation could benefit rival candidate Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing politician and former army captain, who is running second in opinion polls.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
6 charming homes for the whimsical
Feature Featuring a 1924 factory-turned-loft in San Francisco and a home with custom murals in Yucca Valley
By The Week Staff Published
-
Big tech's big pivot
Opinion How Silicon Valley's corporate titans learned to love Trump
By Theunis Bates Published
-
Stacy Horn's 6 favorite works that explore the spectrum of evil
Feature The author recommends works by Kazuo Ishiguro, Anthony Doerr, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Brazil's war on illicit hot air balloons
Under the Radar Secret 'baloeiros' fly flamboyantly colourful creations over Rio's favelas, despite nationwide ban
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
-
The nuclear threat: is Vladimir Putin bluffing?
Talking Point Kremlin's newest ballistic missile has some worried for Nato nations
By The Week UK Published
-
Russia vows retaliation for Ukrainian missile strikes
Speed Read Ukraine's forces have been using U.S.-supplied, long-range ATCMS missiles to hit Russia
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published