
She was three months pregnant and battling morning sickness, but she was determined to get to the truth. Besides, she and her neighbors hadn’t heard a shootout, just a single shot. And she had seen him head to the gas station alone, after celebrating the new year with his girlfriend. Her son, she told investigators, had never held a gun in his life. Still, if Lula, as he is known, becomes president, as polls suggest he will, he will face pressure from segments of his base who have become increasingly vocal about the need for police reform.ĭos Santos thought the police were lying.


His challenger in Sunday’s presidential election, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has said little about the issue, with some political observers concluding that he is wary of conflict with the police because of the possibility that they could back Bolsonaro in an attempt to steal the election.

The rise in police violence has been celebrated by President Jair Bolsonaro, who has pushed for laws that would provide immunity for officers who commit homicide in the line of duty and declared that “a policeman who doesn’t kill isn’t a policeman.” Most took place in favelas, former squatter settlements founded by ex-slaves that remain predominantly Black today and have few state services and a heavy gang presence. In Rio de Janeiro state, killings by police accounted for nearly a third of all homicides.
