Weekly Report - 24 September 2026 (WR-26-38)

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has announced a plan to boost the federal government’s efforts to combat organised crime in Rio de Janeiro state. At an event on 18 September with Rio’s interim governor, Ricardo Couto, Lula unveiled plans for deeper cooperation between federal security institutions and local law enforcement. The Lula administration has already been trying to pass a constitutional amendment proposal (PEC) to deepen integration between police forces, the so-called ‘PEC da Segurança’ – but the legislation remains stalled in congress, so Lula has presented this federal-state security cooperation initiative in Rio as a pilot project to lay the groundwork for more institutional integration on security matters.