Hit by a Police Strike, Looting, Dozens of Dead, Brazil City Begs for the Feds

Brazil sent 200 federal troops into the state of Espírito Santo, in southeastern Brazil, on Monday in an attempt to curb a surge in violence with dozens reported dead following a police strike over pay disputes.

Brazil’s President Michel Temer ordered the federal troops to be sent to restore law and order in the state north of Rio de Janeiro.

On Friday, police in the state stopped working over a pay dispute. As military police cannot formally go on strike, families of officers have instead protested for better wages and prevented officers going on patrol by blocking police stations.

The state government, however, says that it does not have the funds to raise wages and will not go back to the negotiating table until police return to work.

In a state already hit hard by budget cuts and the country’s worst ever economic recession, a wave of crime and violence then rocked the state, with scenes of riots and anarchy, particularly in the capital Vitória.

Over the weekend, up to 52 people were thought to have been killed, according to Reuters. The Rio Times put the death toll as high as 65, but a security spokesman from the state said that the government does not have an official tally.

Out of concern for public security, essential services such as schools and public health clinics were shut down. Videos captured by residents have shown muggings, car thefts, looting, vandalism and general destruction.

Espírito Santo’s governor, Cesar Colnago, who made the request for federal troops, commented on the strike: “There is no way we can accept this attitude, leaving the population deprived of an essential service like public security.”

“President Temer determined our presence here and that we would remain as long as necessary for the order to be recovered,” Defense Minister, Raul Jungmann, said.

Espírito Santo’s head of public security, Andre Garcia, said that the protests have “paralyzed the military police service, not just in the capital but also in the entire state. Movements of this nature hold society hostage.”

Other states and municipalities throughout Brazil have also been hit hard by a struggling economy, making it difficult to pay for basic services and wages.

While the Temer government has brought in harsh austerity measures, Brazil continues to be plagued by high rates of violence, police killings as well as continued prison riots.

teleSUR

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazilian journalist Gleydson Carvalho killed while he was on air

Murder and Impunity: The Risky Business of Being a Journalist in Brazil

Brazil and Mexico are among the countries that saw the highest increases in impunity ...

A word collage

The Surreal Reality of Being a Journalist in Brazil, Where Judges Intimidate the Press

Brazilian journalist Erik Silva never imagined that printing information from a municipal government website ...

secular state cartoon

Brazil’s Austerity and a Turn to the Right Restrict Women’s Reproductive Rights

  Late last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the Zika virus ...

“The leave is also intended to protect adoptive mothers and non-pregnant mothers in same-sex unions.”

Woman Married to Woman Entitled to Paternity Leave When Companion Gives Birth, Rules Brazil Supreme

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) ruled that non-pregnant women in same-sex unions are entitled ...

Cuban doctor Raymond Garcia in Brazil

Cuban Doctors in Brazil Waiting for a Chance to Treat Coronavirus

Raymond Garcia has experience with epidemics. First he treated cholera in Haiti. He battled ...

In Violent Brazil, Women Are Safer on the Street than at Home

In Brazil, every 15 seconds, a woman suffers violence in the home. Yet, Brazil ...

Accident or Not, the Death of a Justice Helps the New Brazilian President

The tragic death of Teori Zavascki, the Brazilian Supreme Court Justice who died in ...

Independence Dragons, the ceremonial police in charge of Palácio do Planalto, the presidential office - Photo: Carolina Antunes/PR

Senate Approves Amendment Proposal that Would Bring Presidential Elections to Brazil Now

Another crack around and within Michel Temer’s administration emerged as a Brazilian Senate Committee ...