URBAN VIOLENCE
Amid Rio’s corpses, a political project
Residents of the Penha and Alemão favela chains found dozens of corpses in the aftermath of Tuesday’s massive police operation. They denounce a massacre. Photo: Tomaz Silva/EBC
The deadliest police operation in Brazilian history — one that left at least 121 people dead in two favela chains — has quickly turned into a political battlefield, a contest over who controls the narrative on public security. The issue dominates voters’ concerns heading into Brazil’s next election cycle.
Despite the sheer human toll, Governor Cláudio Castro of Rio de Janeiro congratulated his administration for the operation, which he called a success. “The only victims were the four killed police officers,” he said, minimizing civilian casualties as dead criminals. Human rights groups and local associations denounced a massacre, citing bodies with signs of torture (some had dismembered limbs and heads) and others with execution-style bullet wounds…
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