Who Was Marielle Franco?
A Brief Rundown About The Brazilian Politician, Marielle Franco, Whose Homicide Inspired Commotion Worldwide (Originally published Mar. 30 2018)
What happened?
On March 14th, Marielle Franco, a Brazilian city council member and social activist, was murdered in what seems a politically driven murder. She was going home after a meeting when a car fired thirteen shots to her car, killing her and her driver, Anderson Gomes.
Marielle’s death inspired commotion and disagreement inside and outside of Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro, while a massive manifestation took place, advocating for justice and human rights, an important part of Marielle Franco’s ideology, others argued that the commotion is too sensationalist and that the left-wing is promoting their ideals over it, not taking into consideration numerous police officers that die weekly due to violence in Rio. Internationally, Viola Davis published her support to Marielle on her social media; Katy Perry paid tribute to the politician in her concert in Rio as well.
For many, her death was politically driven, as Marielle was a representative of left-wing ideologies in Brazil, especially those concerning inequality, socialism, racism, and feminism. For others, her death is being used as a political tool to bring attention to socialist causes and to oppose the military intervention in Rio de Janeiro, which has taken place due to the high rates of violence in the city.
Who was Marielle Franco?
Marielle Franco was born in the Complexo da Maré, a favela (slum) in Rio de Janeiro. She became involved with human rights after a friend of hers was killed in a cross-fire between drug dealers and the police in the same favela. During that time, she was already studying Social Sciences in the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, which helped her in setting her pathway to politics and the human rights.
As a black lesbian woman, she was immersed in minority groups and used that exclusion factor to promote and develop her ideals. Marielle was definitely a left-wing person, both economically and socially, although the latter gave her more visibility. In this social sphere, she advocated for the LGBT community, women, and black rights, as well as for the government to pay more attention to the poorest regions of Rio de Janeiro. Among other policies defended by her are socialist ones, since she was part of the Socialist and Liberty Party (PSOL). All those ideologies made her a polemic politician in Rio.
Recently, Marielle was even more polemic because of her criticisms to the military intervention in Rio de Janeiro, which she thought to be an overreaction with severe consequences to the lower classes, such as social exclusion. This lead to divided opinions: some people stated she was in favor of the criminals in the city by opposing the military help, while others argued she was just opposing the way the intervention was being done. What everyone can agree is that her position was unsatisfactory to the high-ranking politicians in the city, which for some is a clear indicator of political homicide.
Why does her death matter?
Her death carried numerous meanings to the present Brazil:
Firstly, a politician being murdered showcases the difficult situation Brazilian politics is currently undergoing, being ever more divided (as can be seen in my other Epoch article, The ‘Clickbait’ Politics). The repercussion on social media showed this division. There were people criticizing the commotion, stating that it was a political tool and a way of promoting socialism in Brazil. There were also people in favor of the commotion, stating that it was a political murder and a way of setting the left-wing aside.
Secondly, her death is a representation of the forces trying to shut the voices of feminism, LGBT movement, and movements against racism in Brazil. She was a symbol of those movements, and killing her was a clear example of Brazil’s most conservative sectors. Additionally, this is a severe attack to freedom of speech itself.
Thirdly, it is an example of the growing violence in Rio de Janeiro. As pointed by the Human Rights Watch, Marielle’s death is related to the “impunity in Rio de Janeiro” and “to the bankrupt security force”, as Rio can no longer pay some of its police force and violence has skyrocketed.
Aftermaths
In Brazil, the repercussion of her death in Brazil was immense. In Rio de Janeiro and in other cities, there were huge manifestations asking for the investigation of her murder and justice. Additionally, there was a large commotion on social media; many artists used them to share their indignation. Marielle’s death brought several controversial topics to the spotlight, such as the role of women in Brazilian society and urban violence, which has promoted important discussion in the country.
On the other hand, many Brazilians state that the commotion surrounding her death is exaggerated and is being used by the leftist to advocate their ideals. They argue that countless people from left and right-wing have died in Rio due to violence, and that the PSOL (Socialism and Liberty Party) is using her death as self-promotion to gain power over the city. Moreover, for them, Marielle’s death is a clear example on why the military intervention she opposed is indeed necessary in the current situation in Rio.
In the world, there was also a large repercussion. The European Union reproached the Brazilian government for what happened, as this is an intolerable sign of the rising violence in the country. Some international celebrities have shown their support for Marielle’s death. The actress Viola Davis shared a tweet saying: “I’m standing and fighting with you, Brazil”. The singer Katy Perry in a show in Brazil brought the daughter and the sister of Marielle to the stage and paid tribute to the council member.
Personal Opinion
Regardless of your personal ideologies and opinions about left-wing, the murder of someone just for their beliefs is intolerable and should indeed be prosecuted. I myself am not in favor of several policies defended by Marielle, especially those regarding the economic aspect and to some extent the military intervention, but that is certainly not a reason to make her death less meaningful for present Brazil. We may not agree with what everything she believed, but she had, or at least should have had, the right to free speech, to expose her ideals, and fight for them (and to not be killed because of them).
