"Marielle Franco, 38, was a city councillor in the city of Rio de Janeiro, just one year into her term. She was considered an up-and-coming member of the left-wing Socialism and Liberty Party. A Black woman from the favelas—Brazil's densely populated, low-income neighbourhoods—Franco was best known for campaigning for the rights of LGBTQ people, racial minorities and women."
"On March 14, 2018, after an evening debate in Rio de Janeiro, a car pulled alongside the vehicle carrying Franco and Gomes. The assailant fired 13 bullets into their vehicle. Franco and Gomes were killed, and an aide also travelling in the vehicle was injured. Prosecutors have called the attack an assassination, designed to silence Franco and prevent her from pushing back against powerful interests."
"In Wednesday's ruling, the Supreme Court justices found that former Congress member Chiquinho Brazao and his brother Domingos Brazao—a councillor on Rio's state audit court—conspired to have Franco murdered in response to her efforts to end illegal land grabs. The two brothers had profited from efforts to claim public land."
Marielle Franco, a 38-year-old Black city councillor from Rio de Janeiro and member of the left-wing Socialism and Liberty Party, was assassinated on March 14, 2018, along with her driver Anderson Gomes. Franco championed rights for LGBTQ people, racial minorities, and women while denouncing excessive police violence in favelas and illegal land appropriations by authorities. A car pulled alongside their vehicle and fired 13 bullets, killing both Franco and Gomes and injuring an aide. Brazil's Supreme Court unanimously convicted five defendants, including former Congress member Chiquinho Brazao and his brother Domingos Brazao, a state audit court councillor. Prosecutors established the brothers conspired to murder Franco to prevent her from exposing their illegal land-grabbing operations. The trial highlighted issues of polarization, corruption, and racial injustice in Brazilian society.
#political-assassination #corruption-in-brazil #human-rights-activism #judicial-accountability #social-justice
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