Rio Police Chief & Congressman Convicted in Assassination of Socialist Rio Councilwoman Marielle Franco
Payday Report • • general
Key Points:
- The Brazilian Supreme Court convicted former Rio Civil Police Chief Rivaldo Barbosa, Congressman Chiquinho Brazão, and Rio State Auditor Domingos Brazão for ordering the 2018 assassination of socialist City Councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes.
- The sentencing concludes an eight-year struggle by activists who faced obstacles under Jair Bolsonaro’s government, with renewed investigation and arrests occurring after President Lula took office in 2023.
- Marielle Franco was targeted due to her investigations into paramilitary gangs’ ties to politics and police, exposing systemic racism, misogyny, and corruption within Rio de Janeiro’s security forces and political establishment.
- Franco’s widow, Mônica Benício, hailed the verdict as a critical step for justice and Brazilian democracy,
