Rio Governor: 'Deadly Raid? We Call it Urban Renewal'
The headline reads: “Demonstrators call for governor’s resignation after deadly Rio police raid.” Al Jazeera dutifully reports that residents laid out 'dozens of bodies' in Vila Cruzeiro. Yet, the framing often misses the forest for the trees. This isn't an isolated incident; it's a recurring feature of Brazilian state policy, frequently touted by politicians promising 'tough on crime' solutions,
echoing the country's dark history of state violence against its marginalized populations, conveniently obscured by narratives of 'drug wars'. One might wonder if governors, whose campaigns often run on platforms of 'eradicating violence'—by which they mean eradicating the poor—ever truly acknowledge the human toll. Or perhaps, these 'deadly raids' are precisely the intended outcome, a brutal form
of social cleansing dressed up as law enforcement. After all, how many 'mistakes' does it take before we call it policy? You don't lay out dozens of bodies in the street unless the state has clearly communicated its implicit—or explicit—approval.