Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has criticized the violence against “poor blacks” committed by Rio de Janeiro’s police controlled by Bolsonaro Governor Claudio Castro following the death of a 13-year-old boy in a case easily provoked in a favela, but at the same time he suggested helping security forces fight organized crime “which is taking over the country”.
“The police must know how to distinguish a criminal from a poor man walking down the street,” the president said during a rally in Rio de Janeiro, where he, along with Governor Castro and Rio Mayor Eduardo Paez, took office. the start of urban mobility work in the Campo Grande area, west of the beautiful city, an electoral redoubt favorable to former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Last Monday, 13-year-old Thiago Flausino was killed by a 9mm bullet from a police pistol during an operation carried out by the Rio de Janeiro police in the favela of Ciudad de Dios, in the western zone of Rio de Janeiro, in a case that gave rise to big commotion all over the country.
According to the Fuego Cruzado Institute, with the death of a boy who is involved in a social project to provide young footballers to first division clubs, the number of teenagers shot in Rio has reached 32, of which 15 have died.
“Poor blacks on the fringes must be treated with respect so that what happened to a 13-year-old untrained policeman never happens. A citizen who shoots a child was not prepared to be a police officer. We need to create conditions. The police have to distinguish between a bandit and a poor man walking down the street. The federal government should help the governors. Organized crime is taking over the country,” Lula said.
The President recalled that at the Amazon Summit held this week in Belen, it was decided that the fight against organized crime would also be carried out in the Amazon jungle in agreement with neighboring countries, and mentioned the possibility of using the Armed Forces at the borders and the Federal Police.
The event was also attended by Racial Equality Minister Aniel Franco, sister of Mariel Franco, a socialist adviser who was killed in 2018 by former police officers who are part of militias or death squads, although it is still unknown who ordered the killing. leader assassination.
Although Lula said he intended to work with Gov. Castro despite being in the opposition, he took the opportunity to accuse Bolsonaro of funding the equivalent of about $62 billion (300 billion reais) in public funds for some of his campaign strategies. money. for re-election in the 2022 elections.
In this context, in Bolsonarismo’s homeland, the western zone of Rio, Lula assured that Bolsonaro “is a denier who does not respect life and will be responsible until the end of his days for causing half of the deaths from Covid.” -19 for preventing vaccine benefits from being disclosed.
Lula assured that he intends to attract central government investment in Rio de Janeiro by expanding the investment portfolio of the BNDES development bank and rebuilding the naval industry through Petrobras, as well as improving public transport in the wonderful city.