“We’re at war with them, there will be more casualties, but we won’t back down.” _State Military police Chief Colonel Elizeu Teixeira Borges_
The current chaos in Sao Paulo was sparked five days ago, when authorities transfered eight leaders of the First Capital Command gang (“PCC”) to a high-security facility near Rio de Janeiro. The PCC retaliated by attacking police cars and stations with bullets and bombs, sparking chaos that overflowed into the prison. Attacks have now spread to banks and buses, and the deathtoll has now reached 90 with many guards in the prison still hostage. In a whopping serves-you-right for bleeding heart liberalism, the violence intensified after thousands of prisoners were freed for the weekend to visit Mom on Mother’s Day.
The PCC is more than a mafia — it’s a criminal trade union. Members contribute monthly dues to a central fund that bribes police officers, hires lawyers, and provides for members’ families while they are in prison. When violence such as this does erupt, it is coordinated and widespread. As a Katrina-esque example of the perils of federalism, President Lula offered to send 4,000 elite troops to help, which were refused by Sao Paulo Gov. Claudio Lembo who insisted the help wasn’t needed. And there will be more casualties before this is over.
FOOTER: The post title is a reference to this.
Curzon, I was wondering when that movie would come up on CA. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to it by some Brazillian friends who provided a lot of good background & commentary as I watched. Also on the DVD is a documentary about the rise of the PCC.
The documentary you mention is even better than the film itself — a truly scary look into how criminal organizations can rule a society.
“I’m a playboy now.”
On a serious note, South American gangs tend to be a lot less like the American sense of ‘gangs’, and more like small privately funded armies.
Yikes, it sounds like a seriously bad scene down there. I once met a guy at a travel agency in India who railed on for 20 minutes about how disgusting, dirty, disorganized, crime-ridden and uncivilized India was (I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I was in no hurry and that I loved the place-most of the time). I asked him where he was from and he said Brazil.
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…a truly scary look into how criminal organizations can rule a society.
As a Yank, I am fully conversant with how criminal organizations can rule a society. Here, though, we employ the genteel circumlocution of referring to them as “political parties”.
If you liked the movie, see City of Men (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364801/). The story in the TV series is independent of the movie story, features some of the same actors and is generally excellent.
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What you should also see is “Carandiru”, the film about the massacre of over 100 prisoners in the early 90s. ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0293007/” )
I think the PCC were formed in response to this massacre. They started as a kind of prisoner’s defence organization. And have always been at war with the police.
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