Protest and Confrontation at Rio de Janeiro Slum after Boy's Death

04/06/2015 - 08h57

Easter Week was marked by deaths, protests and confrontations between the police and residents of one of Rio's biggest slums, Complexo do Alemão.

Eduardo de Jesus Ferreira, a 10-year old boy, was shot in the head by a rifle. Residents of the slum protested and the police dispersed demonstrators with stun grenades and tear gas. Complexo do Alemão is comprised of 12 slums and has received four UPP (Pacifying Police Unit) stations since 2012.

The series of confrontations between the police and criminals that began on Wednesday, April 1, killed four people in 24 hours: Elizabete de Moura Francisco, 41, Ferreira and two other men identified as drug dealers.

Residents protested for peace on the holiday. Some hung white sheets from their windows and others climbed down the stairs in a protest on Estrada do Itararé, the main access street to the region.

The police used gas bombs against the group that blocked the street. Some residents threw stones and others hid in streets and alleys.

The government of Rio said that the police officers involved in the death of Ferreira were removed from their duties and their guns taken. They will be subject to a Military Police Investigation.

Ferreira was shot near his house in the afternoon. His mother, housemaid Terezinha Maria de Jesus, 40, told Folha that the police killed the boy. "There was no gunfight. Saying there was a confrontation is a lie," she said. She is thinking of leaving Complexo do Alemão. "I want justice and then I will go back to my home state, Piauí. I don't want to stay in this damned place."

President Dilma Rousseff made a speech in the face of the growing violence. In an official announcement, she said those responsible should be punished.

"At this moment of pain I want to offer my condolences and support to Terezinha Maria de Jesus, who lost her son Eduardo de Jesus Ferreira, in the Complexo do Alemão. I hope the circumstances of his death will be clarified and those responsible are tried and punished," said Rousseff.

There is a general complaint of the residents about the attitude of the police. One of the residents told Folha that Elizabete de Moura Francisco, who died on Wednesday, was shot by police at home - he said that the police hadn't verified if there was anyone in the house.

She was shot in the head and chest. Her funeral on Friday, April 3, was accompanied by some 200 people. She is survived by her daughter, Maynara de Moura Francisco, 15, who also was shot but has already been discharged.

On Sunday, April 5, the governor of Rio, Luiz Fernando Pezão, said the police will occupy Complexo do Alemão again.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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	Fabio Gonçalves/Agencia O Dia
	José Maria Ferreira de Sousa and Terezinha Maria de Jesus, parents who lost their son Eduardo de Jesus Ferreira