Police Strike in Espírito Santo Leads to Wave of Violence

02/07/2017 - 13h21

A police strike in Espírito Santo has led to a wave of violence, marked by deaths, looting, suspension of school classes, suspension of public transport services and the closing of shopping malls in the metropolitan area of Vitória, the state capital.

With violence on the rise after the strike unfolded on Friday (the 3rd), the state of Espírito Santo requested support from the Brazilian Army and the National Guard.

The federal government is planning on deploying a National Guard squad made up of 200 men, along with army officers who started policing the city's streets early Monday night (the 6th).

According to the state's civil police union, 52 homicides have been registered in the state since Saturday (the 4th) - the average homicide rate in Espírito Santo is 4 per day.

When asked by the press how many people had been killed, the Secretary of Public Security and Social Defense declined to answer.

At least two buses were set on fire, and several stores were looted. Given the surge in violence, many city residents reported that they didn't feel safe walking on the streets of Vitória, even during the daytime.

This led six shopping malls to close their doors in the afternoon, in fear of looting. The city's streets were all but empty since stores stayed closed and public transport was suspended.

The mayor of Vitória even decided to suspend classes, work hours for civil servants and medical services at public hospitals - even the yellow fever vaccination campaign was interrupted.

Family members of police officers have been demonstrating in front of precincts since Friday.

Picket lines are keeping patrol cars from circulating. Brazil's constitution prohibits Military Police officers from going on strike.

In light of this, several police associations have issued statements denying any participation whatsoever in the strike.

Strikers are demanding better working conditions, raises and bonuses for night shifts, given the higher exposure to danger.

On Monday, the state's Court of Justice considered that the strike was illegal, demanding that the strike come to an end, setting a R$ 100 thousand fine (US$ 32 thousand) for each day the police union disobeys the court's ruling.

For judge Robson Luiz Albanez, the police are "covertly" on strike. He also believes that their families do have the police union's blessing.

According to the governor's office, both the union and police officers' families have been unreasonable, and the state government has no intention of bringing strikers to the negotiating table as long as police officers aren't on the streets.

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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