Brazil: Labor Party Councilman Murdered

Just days after councilwoman and activist Marielle Franco was assassinated in Rio de Janeiro another leftist councilor, Paulinho Henrique Dourado, has been killed in a similar manner. Dourado, who was elected to the Marge council for the Brazilian Labor Party in 2016, was murdered on Tuesday in the metropolitan region of Rio called Estrada do Goiabal, in Pau Grande.

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According to Rio’s military police, the councilman was in his car when he was shot multiple times, and one of his companions was also injured during the attack.

The Police are investigating the incident as a political crime.

According to Bazilian newspaper O Globo, 15 politicians have been murdered in Brazil since 2017.

The last case that outraged Brazil and the international community was the murder of Marielle Franzo who rejected the militarization of the state of Rio de Janeiro and was a vocal opponent to police and state violence in Brazil’s favelas.

Franco was shot five times in the head while traveling in her car, and her case became more controversial after it was determined that the bullets used to kill her had been purchased by Brazil’s Federal Police. The Brazilian government claims the bullets could have been stolen from the Federal Police.  

Her murder has sparked protests against state violence and the militarization of Rio. “Not in our name,” activists demanded in last week's protest, vowing to continue Franco’s struggles.  

On Feb. 16, Brazil's federal government declared the militarization of the state of Rio de Janeiro to combat violence. Since then, soldiers are patrolling the streets in predominantly poor, working-class neighborhoods.