Strikes by Brazilian police seem to happen one after another. In the most recent strike, it ended with a 6.5% pay raise for the police in Bahia and no punishment for those who participated in the strike but committed no crimes. However, during the strike period, there were 180 murders in the metropolitan area. The security situation is worrying as the 2014 FIFA World Cup approaches.
Our correspondent Du Han reports that low wages have once again become the trigger. On February 12, Salvador, the capital of Bahia, ended its 12-day long strike after authorities met their demands for higher wages. According to local media reports, Brazilian police protested against their low wages and poor benefits, which led to negotiations that failed to reach an agreement, thus initiating the strike action. Starting from January 31, large-scale protests began in Bahia. On February 9, the firefighters, military police, and civil police in Rio de Janeiro also joined the strike.
Through labor negotiations, the police in Bahia will receive a 6.5% pay increase, and those who participated in the strike but committed no crimes will not be punished. This means that the monthly salary of local police officers will increase by about $350. Previously, the monthly salary of police officers in Bahia was between $1100 and $1330.
The main demand of the police strike in Rio de Janeiro was to raise the starting salary to $2000, but due to the small number of participants, the biggest demand before the end of the strike became the release of arrested comrades, claiming that keeping them in jail violated the spirit of the constitution.
According to a UN survey report, Brazilian police salaries are significantly too low, and the police do not even have a decent set of uniforms. Here, the police do not have a unified uniform, and when they need to buy clothes, they find the cheapest supplier. Usually, whatever the supplier has is what they buy, so the styles and colors of the police uniforms are not uniform - black, gray, green, coffee-colored, all kinds of varieties.
In most states in Brazil, the wage level of the police is the lowest among government departments. To support their families, most police officers have second jobs. The wages of senior officials are 15 times higher than those of ordinary police officers, and this huge gap exacerbates the issue of police wages. It has become a standard procedure for police strikes: seeking better treatment through strikes and quickly ending the protests once their demands are met.
Brazilian police almost hold wage-increase strikes every year. Brazilians talk about strikes as normally as talking about dressing and eating. With the strong influence of domestic unions, various industries' strikes are frequently organized, including port strikes, bank strikes, airline strikes, teacher strikes, etc., which are quite common.
Ambiguous identity of both police and criminals
According to a statement by the Bahia Public Safety Department, during the strike, there were 180 murders in the metropolitan area of Salvador, the capital. Among these, 25 cases involved striking police officers suspected of participating in criminal activities, and the public prosecution department will conduct investigations. The local government condemned some police officers for encouraging looting and using patrol cars during the strike, causing public panic. There are approximately 30,000 police officers in Bahia, and about one-third of them participated in the strike and protest activities. According to data published by the Bahia Public Security Bureau on February 4: in the past 30 hours, there were 29 murders and 10 attempted murders just in the capital Salvador and surrounding areas. There is reason to suspect that this was deliberately done to show the importance of the police, but such speculation makes people uneasy. Brazilian Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo emphasized in Brasilia on the 6th that the duty of the police should be to maintain social order, and their strikes and protests have already caused harm to society. Deliberate destruction by the police during this period is unacceptable.
In Rio de Janeiro, there is almost a shooting every hour, and people die from gun violence daily. Nighttime sees a high incidence of robbery and shooting cases. According to a provision in Brazil's traffic regulations: citizens driving after 10 p.m. can run red lights to prevent being robbed by armed bandits. And these criminals are not only gang members and civilians but could also be police officers.
"Some Brazilian police officers appear to fight crime while on duty, but transform into criminals off-duty," wrote special rapporteur Alston in a 2008 UN report. The report mentioned that so-called "execution squads" exist in certain areas of Brazil, often composed of active or retired police officers who work privately for businessmen and politicians, specializing in eliminating opponents for their "employers."
According to a report released by international human rights organization "Human Rights Watch" on December 8, 2009, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo police have killed at least 11,000 people in the past six years through "extrajudicial executions." In these extrajudicial killing cases, few police officers face charges because the police always use "suspect resisted arrest" and "violent resistance to law enforcement" as reasons in case investigation reports.
Peace Police Deployed in Slums
Facing the ever-increasing gang shootouts and drug-related incidents, to ensure the smooth operation of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, officials came up with an ambitious plan to form a new "peace police force." Their primary task is to win over the public and change the public's perception of the police.
Decades ago, the Brazilian government refused to take control of the slums, turning them into dens for gangs. Some residents, feeling abandoned by the government, vented their anger onto the police. "City of God" used to be one of the most terrifying slums in Rio de Janeiro, where gangs and drug dealers were the administrators, and regular police did not dare enter easily. Nowadays, more than ten police officers from the "City of God" police team walk into childcare centers, playing with children. These children climb all over them, playing with their radios and holstered handguns. Some police officers interrupt patrols to teach children how to play guitars and violins and teach English. Since "City of God" was taken over, the police have arrested more than 200 people. Crime rates have indeed dropped. Years of hatred have gradually dissipated, and the "peace police" have become the new image of Brazilian police. Some residents who support the takeover quietly provide clues to help the police. Although drug trafficking still exists, at least in some areas, armed individuals have disappeared, or at least gone underground. According to Police Chief Beltrame, they have arranged 12 "peace police teams" to oversee 35 slums. He plans to establish "peace police teams" in 160 slums by 2014.
However, Beltrame stated that the peace police plan is only guaranteed until 2014, so some residents are still worried about the post-Olympic future of these "peace police." Without "peace police teams," doctors and other professionals refuse to enter the slums due to safety concerns.
As the 2014 FIFA World Cup approaches, Brazil's security situation remains concerning. However, the emergence of peace police gives hope for improved security in Brazil. Increasing police income, improving police officer quality, and ensuring the smooth operation of world events are the top priorities for the Brazilian government. In fact, the constantly rising unemployment rate and declining economic growth rate, along with the increasingly intensified contradictions between the masses and the government, are the real issues behind the strike events.