The public security crisis deepens in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro has experienced yet another shock – the launch of a full-scale federal intervention putting the military in charge of public security in Rio de Janeiro. For the first time since 1988, the armed forces oversee the secretary for public security, the firemen and the prison system.

The move has been widely supported in Rio de Janeiro, but also generates a host of questions about the implications for human rights and civil liberties, the extent of reform it may precipitate within the police force, and much more.

The Igarapé Institute has called for transparency and also for monitoring of outcomes. In columns for O Globo and Folha de S. Paulo, Ilona Szabo has noted the critical importance of restructuring the military and civil police, fighting corruption within the criminal justice system, and strengthening the federal task force that is now operational in Rio de Janeiro (to investigate money laundering, gun smuggling, and drug trafficking).

Robert Muggah also weighted in with the LA Times and other news outlets to discuss the wider implications of the militarization of public security.