Massacre in Paraisópolis

It wasn’t an accident! It was a massacre!

Most of the press is treating the occurrence like an “accident.” We know that it wasn’t.

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It wasn’t an accident!

It was a massacre!

The words “revolt,” “pain,” and “indignation” don’t begin to express what we feel in face of the massacre carried out at the funk dance in Paraisópolis by the Military Police of São Paulo under the command of governor João Dória (i.e., BolsoDória). Nine young people between the ages of 14 and 23 are now dead and many others are injured.

MAY OUR GRIEF INSPIRE US TO FIGHT BACK!

Most of the press is treating the occurrence like an “accident.” We know that it wasn’t. The explanations given by the Military Police and the governor of São Paulo aren’t convincing anyone. The police came to the funk dance to kill and attack our young people. Hundreds of people were trapped in narrow spaces with no exit and subjected to brutal violence. And even if it were true that the police were pursuing a couple of criminals, that doesn’t justify the way their “operation” was conducted.

The generalized slaughter of poor, black, indigenous, and northeastern youth is a part of the State’s policies! And these killings only happen in the places where we live: the favelas, occupations, and impoverished suburbs. Every government that has existed since the Portuguese invaded this land has killed and imprisoned us. They want to take away our lives! We don’t have access to healthcare, education, quality transportation, or cultural and leisure activities. The only things they offer us are violence and repression wherever we go. This racism and oppression serve the interests of the rich, who live very well at the cost of our sweat, blood, and tears!

WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT’S POSITION AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Only a few years ago, the commander of the Military Police’s elite force said it had to treat rich and poor neighborhoods differently. And that’s exactly what they do! If it had been at a party in a rich neighborhood, where people also listen to loud music and use and sell drugs, the violence  and deaths that took place at the funk dance would never have happened. To them, everyone who lives in the favela is a thug and doesn’t deserve respect!

The official position of governor João Dória after what happened is that the state’s public security policies are not going to change!

Meanwhile, Bolsonaro says only that he “laments” what happened, and at the same time is trying to pass “anticrime” legislation with a so-called “extenuating circumstances” clause that is, in fact, a license to kill, because it protects police officers who commit murders during “security operations,” excluding any possibility of investigation into or punishment for such acts.

In other words, they think things are fine the way they are! And they put all the blame on funk dances and try to criminalize the activities of the youth and the marginalized. But if there are problems with the dances, it should be the community who fixes them. Nothing will be solved with bullets and bombs, repression, or the killing of our young people! They want to legitimize the massacres that are happening every day all over Brazil! We need to say “enough!”

Stop killing us! No more repressing funk dances!

WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

We’re living through a very difficult time.

We’re being battered on all sides by unemployment, price increases, governments attacking our rights and protections, as well as our retirement funds, raises in rent, evictions all over the place, people dying in line to see a doctor, more and more cuts to school funding, and teachers and students suffering oppression in class. On top of all this, we are made to shed tears for the loss of our loved ones! Enough! We can’t allow the State to continue to act this way with impunity! We need to fight back!

We need to rise up together against such injustice! We need to organize a response! We need to take to the streets to demand that all those involved in the massacre be held responsible! We demand justice and reparations for the families of the young people who were killed and for all those who were attacked!

We want peace and justice in our hoods!

On the 14th of December, Paraisópolis will stand up against state repression during the March Against the Genocide of the Black and Marginalized Populations of Brazil, starting at 5PM, on Ernest Renan Road, in front of the Casa Bahia.

Signed by: Batalha do Paraisópolis, Anarcoletiva, Comitê Mestre Moa do katendê, EmpodereCINEgo, Luta Popular, Dona Maria Antifascista, GT Indígena do Tribunal Popular, Fórum em Defesa da Vida, Rede de Proteção e Resistência ao Genocídio, Campanha Nacional Vida Viva, Sarau A Voz do Povo, UJS, UMES, Juventude Pátria Livre, Marcha das Mulheres Negras, Mandata Bancada Ativista, Mandato do Dep. Orlando Silva, Mandata Quilombo/Erica Malunguinho, PcdoB - Distrital do Campo Limpo, ,PSTU, CTB, and CSP Conlutas


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