130 Murdered in the Biggest Massacre in the History of Rio de Janeiro
Feature image: Fabiano Rocha / Agência O Glob
The biggest war operation in history against the people of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro has already left 130 confirmed murdered and more than 113 detained, 10 of whom are underage. The invasion took place in several favelas, among them the Complexo do Alemão and Penha, leaving behind it bloodied streets in a true scene of war.
The residents describe the flames, drones and the armored vehicles that invaded to their neighborhoods. The operation deployed more than two thousand civil and military police, including the special brigades COE, CORE and the battalions of the whole metropolitan region.
The violence against the people were denounced from the very beginning by the residents. Videos show corpses lined up in the streets and residents being arrested for answering the police brutality and the invasion of their homes.
Previous Similar Operations
The operation lasted until night, and left 130 murdered, being the biggest massacre in recent years from a police operation in the favelas. The latest major attack was the Jacarezinho massacre, 2021, which left 28 murdered.
The old State, through the bourgeois press, quickly justified the massacre, stating that it was part of the “war on drugs”, and that the “only victims of the operation was police officers.” The governor of Rio de Janeiro has already stated that the central State itself should have supported the operation, referring to the participation of the Armed Forces.
As A Nova Democracia states, this is not the first time that the State tries to “take the control back” in the Complexo do Alemão and Penha. After the invasion of the Complexo do Alemão in 2010, the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs) were placed. AND adds “These units failed in their objective of “ending drug trafficking,” and the officers themselves were denounced as suppliers of drugs and weapons to the street. In addition, there were numerous cases of human rights violations and murders of residents of the occupied favelas.”
Revolutionary Youth And Democratic Press Against The Massacre
The Red Unity – Revolutionary Youth League (UV-LJR) has already denounced the use of terms such as “war on drugs” and “factions” by the reactionaries to justify the war against the poor people. These operations cause the youth to join these groups, raising their numbers and their repression. They also comment that the true leadership of the attacks can be found in the “luxury mansions” and in “foreign producers” for drug trafficking and guns respectively. They also add “the ‘war on drugs’ is nothing more than a shock policy to contain the youth revolt, which grows with the poverty.”
In contraposition to the bourgeois press, which spreads the discourse of the representatives of the old State, A Nova Democracia has issued on its Youtube channel a video denouncing the massacre.
