De novo!!! A violência continua...
SAO PAULO BRIEFING
August 2006
News this month
In July the war raging between São Paulo’s security forces and the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), an organised-crime gang, claimed 11 lives, paralysed transport and shocked a public still recovering from the May attacks, which killed over 170. Five of the most recent victims were off-duty prison guards. Gilberto Kassab, the mayor of São Paulo, deployed plain-clothes policemen on buses in an attempt to deter arsonists, who have left some 70 buses in flames. The PCC has pledged to continue attacks, promising more violence on August 13th.
The PCC is protesting against conditions in prisons where its leaders are held. After one riot in Araraquara, 273km from São Paulo, 1,443 prisoners were moved to a small courtyard for a week pending repair work, a decision that provoked fierce criticism from human-rights groups. On July 14th the federal government announced a 100m-reais ($45m) injection into São Paulo’s beleaguered prison system. Cláudio Lembo, the state governor, welcomed the money but insisted it was not enough for the state’s overcrowded jails. Federal funding for prisons has dropped by 85% since 1981.
For background see: Violence in Brazil, May 17th 2006
