“Quem mandou matar Marielle?” Translated means: “Who ordered Marielle’s murder?” The question remains a rallying cry of the Brazilian left in protests and on social media today. It remained unanswered for six years. On Sunday, three men were arrested as suspected suspects in the high-profile murder of then 38-year-old city councilor Marielle Franco in Rio de Janeiro.
The three arrested are high-ranking politicians: the then head of Rio’s civil police, Rivaldo Barbosa, a deputy of the National Congress, Chiquinho Brazão and his brother, Domingos Brazão, a member of the Audit Office of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski announced this at a press conference. The accused are charged with the murder of the city councilor and her driver as well as the attempted murder of her assistant on March 14, 2018. The Brazão brothers have been known in Brazil for their involvement in organized crime since the 1980s.
The murder of the Brazilian politician Mariella Franco caused a stir not only among her supporters, but also in large parts of left-wing civil society.
(Photo: Silvia Izquierdo/AP)
At the time, Franco was seen as a beacon of hope for the Brazilian left. As a city councilor for the PSOL party from 2017, she campaigned for the residents of the favelas, Rio’s slums, and spoke out against police violence. The lesbian Afro-Brazilian came from a favela herself and may have paid with her life for her commitment to a fairer Brazil. She was shot at close range just one day after a public appearance in the center.
When he took office in 2022, left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva promised to finally expose Franco’s case. The president took the first symbolic step in this direction by appointing Franco’s younger sister, Anielle Franco, as minister for ethnic equality in the government. “Today is a historic day for Brazilian democracy,” said a statement from Anielle Franco’s family, published on the X platform on Sunday. The arrest of the alleged commissioners of the murder is an important step in the search for justice.