Let us fight for the final victory. It is worth delving into this issue. Things cannot continue as they are. The status quo must be challenged, and urgent changes need to be made.
In recent years, we have suffered an unprecedented attack on our standards of living. A large portion of the working class, living in extreme poverty, has been consistently brutalized by a police force that often works to instill fear rather than protect those it is supposed to serve. According to available data, Brazil remains one of the countries with the highest rates of police lethality in the world.
For example, according to the Brazilian Public Security Forum, in 2019, there were 6,357 deaths resulting from police interventions in the country, an increase of 6% compared to the previous year. In 2020, this number rose to 6,416 people killed by police, whether on or off duty. While annual variations occur, the overall trend points to alarming levels of police violence.
In the state of São Paulo, the situation is equally concerning. Reports indicate a significant increase in police-related deaths in recent years. In 2020, São Paulo recorded 814 deaths due to police interventions, representing an increase compared to previous years. This scenario predominantly affects the poorest sections of the working class—those with the least access to health, education, food, and housing—and whose demands are met with policies of repression.
Contrary to what some wealthier sectors of society might think, it is not only criminals who suffer this type of violence. Numerous reports and complaints highlight abuses committed by security agents against ordinary citizens. Cases such as that of Evaldo Rosa dos Santos, a musician killed in Rio de Janeiro in 2019 after his car was riddled with 80 bullets by Army soldiers, shocked the country and sparked debates about excessive use of force.
In July 2021, the Superior Military Court (STM) upheld the decision to bring the soldiers involved in Evaldo Rosa’s case to a civil jury, recognizing the gravity of the facts. However, debates about proper accountability and justice for the victims persist.
Repression as a response to repression is not the solution to this issue. The situation is likely to worsen if structural measures are not implemented. With the crisis of global capitalism, we communists foresee that the social fabric that minimally holds our society together will be further eroded. The financial and human resources needed to address these problems are being drained by public debt payments, corruption, and unemployment (or job precariousness). The bourgeoisie, parasitically, has continuously exploited the working class. Profit, the dominant logic in our society, has imposed an unprecedented austerity policy, as evidenced by successive pension and fiscal adjustment packages from consecutive governments.
The only solution to this situation is to do away with this logic entirely, not merely reform it. Reforming capitalism in its current state would be akin to believing in fairy tales. The entire world is grappling with the accumulated debts needed to keep the capitalist system running. In 2020, global debt reached a record $281 trillion, according to the Institute of International Finance. Much of this debt was incurred to mitigate crises of capitalist overproduction. As long as nation-states are managed by the bourgeoisie, their priority will be the payment of “this debt.”
And why does the bourgeoisie wield such power? Because they own the means of production. Like the ultimate “owners of the ball,” they dictate the rules; if you don’t accept them, there is no game.
What is to be done? Expropriation is the beginning. These and other steps we learn by organizing ourselves. Join the struggle, unite with the communists, and strengthen the OCI (Internationalist Communist Organization). Only through the organization and awareness of the working class can we face the imposed challenges and build a more just and egalitarian society.
References:
- Brazilian Public Security Forum. “Brazilian Public Security Yearbook 2020.” Available at: [Link]
- Brazilian Public Security Forum. “Brazilian Public Security Yearbook 2021.” Available at: [Link]
- G1. “Police killings in SP increase in 2020.” Available at: [Link]
- BBC Brazil. “Evaldo Case: Military Justice convicts 8 of the 12 soldiers for the musician’s shooting in Rio.” Available at: [Link]
- UOL News. “STM upholds civil jury for soldiers who killed musician in Rio.” Available at: [Link]
- Institute of International Finance (IIF). “Global Debt Monitor – February 2021.” Available at: [Link]
Leave a Reply