Brazilian army to take control of security in Rio as violence rises

Brazilian president Michel Temer signed a decree Friday that put the military in charge of security in Rio de Janeiro, following a rise in street crime and drug gang violence.

Massed robberies and gunfights during carnival, followed by a storm on Wednesday that killed four and caused chaos, have heightened a sense that the city is slipping out of control.

“This could seem like an extreme measure but Brazil demands extreme measures,” said Temer after signing the decree. “We took the country out of the worst recession in its history. Now we are going to restore order.”


The army has operated in Rio during the last year and did so during the Olympics and the World Cup. But Temer’s decree, which was widely reported by local media and confirmed by a government source, will also put the army in charge of the city’s police force – the first time Brazil has taken such a decision since it introduced a new constitution in 1988 following two decades of military dictatorship.

Security in Brazil is normally under the control of individual states. It will now be run by General Walter Braga Netto, who helped coordinate security during the Olympics two years ago, local media reported.

“It is a recognition that there is serious instability in the state of Rio de Janeiro,” said Roberto Dias, a professor of constitutional law at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo. “It is very serious to suspend the autonomy of a state because the rule in a federation is autonomy.”

The decree has automatic effect but has to be approved by Congress, who could vote to overturn it.

Rio governor Luiz da Souza said the police alone had been unable to stop the gang war in the state and said that integration was needed at “extreme moments”.

Columnist Miriam Leitão wrote that a proposal to remove Da Souza was considered and rejected because of the “psychological impact” on electors.

Military intervention is a fraught subject for many Brazilians, though many on the far right increasingly support a return to a military government.

The decree came under attack from residents of Rio’s favelas who have already felt the sharp end of policing by soldiers untrained for it.

A 15-month military occupation of the vast Rio favela Maré ended in June 2015 having failed to solve the area’s perennial violence between drug gangs.

“It did not improve security. On the contrary, it made it worse in Maré,” said Vitor do Vale, a teacher there. “Our security is very debilitated and the government does not understand that more violence will make it worse.”

He said the measure was more likely to appease middle- and upper-class Rio residents who feel that violence is increasingly spilling over from poorer communities .

“For some people this generates a feeling that something is being done,” he said. “For us it’s a problem that’s been here for many years.”

There are political benefits for President Temer, who has staked the success of his presidency on austerity measures to try and control Brazil’s deficit, including a controversial overhaul of pensions due to be voted in Congress in the next few weeks. Expectation is growing that his government will lose the vote.

While Rio’s military intervention is in force, Congress cannot approve any changes to the Constitution – which puts Temer’s pension reform on hold.

“He is changing tack, he will assume a leading role in this issue of public security,” said Ricardo Ismael, a professor of political science at Rio’s Catholic Pontifical University. “He will try to gain popularity.”