Public security is one of the least spread fundamental rights in Brazil. Far from that, the slums and peripheries populations never had it - not even as a possibility. Residents have been systematically treated in a violent and hostile manner, in a clear criminalization for the simple fact of inhabiting these territories.
Rio de Janeiro have frightening numbers, bearing in mind the profusion of violence spread throughout the state and visible throughout the country. The feeling is that any control has been lost and insecurity is the common link that brings together all social groups.
The government responses, in the public security field, to the violence in Rio have many layers and are anchored in a world perspective that has strengthened in Brazil: the use of force as a key element in the resolution of conflicts.
We have to look at this context taking into account the evolution of the forces of the State, the choices made by the government and, especially, the proposal of the national administration that has warlike responses as the only strategy to deal with the alarming numbers of violence.
Rio de Janeiro is the greatest expression of this outrageous logic of State action, as recent events reveal. Two years ago, the Public Defender's Office of the State obtained a preliminary injunction, the Public Civil Action, based on a request / partnership with civil society active in the 16 favelas of Maré, a space where 140,000 residents live. This action had the objective of contributing - through the creation of protocols to be followed by professionals at the time of operations - for the reduction of lethality in confrontations between policemen and armed drug dealers acting in the territory.
In reality, what was requested in the Public Civil Action was compliance with the law, as the police do in other parts of the city: prohibition to enter homes without a warrant, identification of public security agents, use of cameras and GPS in vehicles, realization of operations outside school entry and exit times, support of an ambulance in operations and last but not least, the elaboration of a harm reduction plan with the participation of civil society and specialists in the area of public security.
The Public Civil Action, after two years in force, made a very effective contribution to the reduction of homicides in the set of favelas of Maré, as we can see in the data collected by the project “Eyes on Maré”, carried out by Redes da Maré: in 2017 there were 41 police operations and in 2018 they were much less: 16. However, in the first half of 2019 alone there were 21 operations.
Regarding the number of people killed, we identified 45 in 2017, 24 in 2018. But in the first half of 2019 alone, we surpassed all of last year: there were 27 deaths. In 2017, Maré schools were closed for 35 days due to police operations and in 2018 the number dropped to 10 - the same amount already reached in the first half of 2019. Health posts were interrupted for 45 days in 2017, falling to 11 days in 2018. But only in the first half of 2019 this number has reached 10.
Although the figures show the injunction's validity, it was suspended by order of a judge. In view of the unprecedented decision, which completely disregarded the concrete data, the Public Defender appealed the decision. Redes da Maré took the initiative to organize a collective action for residents to express their opinion about what they experience when armed clashes occur in the region. The idea was to put their feelings on paper. Several institutions - schools, NGOs, residents' associations - and also individual residents, spontaneously brought their letters to the headquarters of the institution, in a civic and engagement movement so that the right to public security is established where they live.
Precisely 1509 letters were collected and delivered to the President of the State Court of Justice. The intention was that magistrates who were going to judge the Public Defender's appeal had elements coming from the society about the seriousness of the decision they had in hands. Fortunately, we had the joy of knowing that the appeal was accepted: the Public Civil Action of Maré was valid again and would follow its procedural course.
The reactions of the governor and the president of the court of justice, however, were to question the legitimacy of the demonstrations, a stance that shocked us. For the governor, the demonstration carried out by the institutions and residents of Maré resulted from a “manipulation of members of armed groups that he would expose”. He also said: “Maré wants to be the free land for drug sales”. The president of the court questioned the veracity of the letters: “Was it the children who made the letter, the drawing? Or did a drug dealer or militiaman forced them to do this and stop the police from acting?”
Although regrettable, these attitudes reflect, as we noted at the beginning of the article, a representation that thinks favela residents as beings without the basic right to life and security. In this logic, to claim their rights would be a support to illicit networks. Our duty, as civil society, is to build and disseminate the perception that another logic is needed. We dedicate ourselves to it: we are full citizens and have rights, especially to the right to live and public safety. And we will always fight for it.
Eliana Sousa Silva
Director and founder of NGO Redes da Maré, researcher in public security and visiting professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies at USP
Article published on the website of Carta Capital magazine on August 20 of 2019
https://www.cartacapital.com.br/justica/seguranca-publica-direito-fundamental-ou-autorizacao-para-matar/
