Crime

Items

• Mission creep looms for armed forces

  24 April 2007 Hits: 177

  LEGISLATORS MULL CRIMEFIGHTING ROLE FOR MILITARY 
  
  Worryingly, there is talk of legislation to enable the armed forces to get involved in the war on crime. The military, who want the legislation, insist it would always be on a exceptional basis only, but once invited in... 
  
  Striking high and low. An attack last month by a group of criminals who wanted to steal a car driven by Sandro Luiz, son of President Lula da Silva, resulted in the death of one of the policemen detailed to guarantee his security. 
  
  The attack took place in the city of São Paulo, Brazil's biggest and, statistically, most violent. There had already been an armed assault on policemen guarding the son of the state governor, Geraldo Alckmin. The head of the supreme court has had his car stolen recently in the city, while advisors to the president of Lula's workers' party (PT), José Genoino, were kidnapped and held to ransom. 
  
  Rankings of shame. These are only a few of the more high-profile cases in recent months in São Paulo, whose sheer size makes it Brazil's most violent city (and state) in absolute terms, while it is beaten in proportional terms (ie, number of violent crimes per 100 inhabitants) by other places like Rio de Janeiro. 
  
  In any case, the rising crime rate across the country makes it clear that the government needs to do something, not least to keep a disgruntled populace from exacting its revenge at next year's municipal elections. A bevy of new legislation is being pushed through congress to address issues such as the nature of organised crime; a system guaranteeing prisoners are not kept beyond their allotted sentence due to bureaucracy; tougher sentences for acts of corruption; money laundering and crimes against children and adolescents. 
  
  Getting the military involved. In a clear sign of the times in Brazilian crime fighting, the senate subcommittee on constitutional and judicial matters is discussing changes in the country's legislation to enable the armed forces to be involved in the fight against organised crime. There has been talk of such change for some time, with representatives from the military invited to address the senate last month with their suggestions. 
  
  The moves have gained impetus, however, after the success of Operação Timbó, the joint-service operation carried out with the armed forces and police to test their ability to fight both drug smugglers and guerrillas entering Brazil from neighbouring Colombia. It is currently estimated that as much as 70% of the world's cocaine makes its way to market through Brazil, which is also the major source of precursor chemicals for its production.

  Brazil's most violent states State No of occurrences in 2002 Murders São Paulo 11,847 Rio 6,233 Minas 2,647 Bahia 2,532 Espí­rito Santo 1,766 Kidnapping for ransom São Paulo 321 Minas 55 Rio 22 Espí­rito Santo 17 Pará 15 Car thefts São Paulo 85,678 Rio 34,432 Rio Grande do Sul 7,903 Minas 5,368 Bahia 3,716 Source: National secretariat of public safety (Senasp), part of the ministry of justice.

  
  

• From the think-tanks' fevered brains

  24 April 2007 Hits: 336

  Think-tanks sitting outside the country see Reds under the bed in Lula's Brazil, and predict that the MST could become Latin America's next narcoguerrillas. 
  
  Strategic Forecasting, Inc (Stratfor), which specialises in security issues, describes a link-up between organised crime in Brazil's big cities and the landless millions the MST says it represents as 'the next logical step' for the drug traffickers in Rio and São Paulo, who have already 'a political quasi-ideology that claims their activities are motivated by ideals of social justice.' 
  
  Alliances between crime groups and the MST would, says Stratfor, 'create an internal security nightmare' for Lula's government, as well as 'discourage investment, undermine productivity and weaken the economy's growth'. It also predicts that human rights abuses by the security forces would grow, and tension would increase between the government and the armed forces. Stratfor also sees the potential for spillover, with the MST, now transformed into a narcoguerrilla movement, extending its tentacles of evil into neighbouring Bolivia and Peru. 
  
  Meanwhile, the rightwing US organisation Center for Security Policy has slammed President George W. Bush's government for failing 'to hold Brazilian President Lula da Silva responsible for his sponsorship of political extremism in the hemisphere.' It cites as an example the Foro de São Paulo, 'a collection of Latin American extremist political groups including old Marxist-Leninist guerrilla and terrorist movements', such as Farc and ELC, both from Colombia, and Peru's MRTA. 
  
  The Center says Bush's 'free-trade-über-alles' policies have prevailed over his avowed intent to crack down on international terrorism, accusing the President of having 'virtually neglected Latin America' and of being 'unwilling to confront alarming anti-US trends'.