Military to take over Rio security

Intervention could bring relief from drug-trafficking violence, but raises fears about strong-arm tactics.

Brazil’s military will take over security in Rio de Janeiro after a spike in violence tainted the city’s Carnival celebration, President Michel Temer has announced.

The military intervention, the first of its kind since the end of Brazil’s military dictatorship in 1988, will be in effect until December. Brazil’s Congress is expected to ratify the measure early next week.

In a televised speech yesterday, Temer called the intervention an ‘‘extreme measure’’ that was necessary to crack down on organised crime and drug trafficking that have overtaken the city of 6.5 million people, the country’s second-most populous.

‘‘Enough,’’ he declared. ‘‘We won’t allow them to kill our present and assassinate our future.’’

Rio’s secretary of security resigned following the announcement. General Walter Souza Braga Netto, who coordinated security in Rio during the 2016 Summer Olympics, will be at the helm of the intervention.

Infamous for its spells of violence, Rio enjoyed a four-year respite in homicides at the start of the decade. But as Brazil sank into its worst recession on record, the city’s police budget dried up, leaving areas that were once heavily policed at the mercy of warring gangs.

The surge in crime serious repercussions residents.

In the past year, homicides, assaults and thefts in the city spiked to levels not seen in 15 years. Nearly 400 schools cancelled classes because of violence last year, and 70 per cent of the city’s residents have contemplated moving away to escape the situation, according to a 2017 poll.

The chaos came to a head this week when gunfire, assaults on tourists and mass muggings marred the city’s largest event, Carnival.

Both Rio’s mayor and the state governor were widely criticised for leaving town as 6 million people gathered for the week-long party that has become synonymous with the city.

‘‘The failure to restore public security is due in part to a fundamental lack of leadership from the state governor and the mayor. They have shown no interest or

Enough. We won’t allow [organised crime] to kill our present and assassinate our future. Brazilian President Michel Temer

has had for Rio’s appetite to mount a serious response,’’ said Robert Muggah, director of the Igarape Institute, a Rio-based think tank that specialises in security issues. ‘‘The [state’s] disastrous handling of public security during this year’s Carnival is symptomatic of deep, systematic neglect.’’

Luiz Fernando Pezao, governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, told local media that the state miscalculated the amount of policing the city would require during the holiday. ‘‘We were not prepared.’’

Violence is on the rise in Brazil as a whole. Security woes have propelled tough-on-crime candidates, such as former military officer Jair Bolsonaro, to the fore in this year’s presidential race.

Temer’s deeply unpopular government is hoping that the military intervention in Rio will address voter concerns about violence ahead of the October elections.

Rio residents are used to soldiers patrolling their streets, and Temer’s measure is the 13th time the city has called for the military to help with chronic security issues, but the past interventions were mostly limited to special events, notably the Olympics and the 2014 football World Cup.

For many, the military takeover brings back unwelcome reminders of Brazil’s dictatorship – the last time the military was in charge of the daily operations of Rio’s security forces.

General Eduardo Villas Boas, the head of the army, criticised the increased use of military intervention to quell security crises throughout Brazil.

While the details of the intervention have yet to be hashed out, the government hopes that a heftier budget and access to national resources will help to get Rio under control. ‘‘Residents will see a more robust security system, with a larger operational capacity and more integrated intelligence,’’ Defence Minister Raul Jungmann said. ‘‘We hope that people will feel safer.’’