Complaints about irregular constructions by the militias increased fivefold in four years in the city of Rio de Janeiro, according to research produced by the Disque Denúncia at the request of Folha.
Calls jumped from 88 in 2016 to 423 in 2020, an increase of 480%.
In 2019, the year in which 24 people died in a landslide in the Muzema community, on the west side of the city, there were 467 complaints. In 2021, 168 complaints have already been registered.
In the 2000s, militias made profits mainly from extorting community residents through the sale of security, gas and access to cable television. In the last decade, they started to invest in other fronts, such as the real estate market.
The study shows that most of the complaints come from the west zone, a region historically exploited by paramilitary groups in the capital.
On Monday (21), the Public Ministry and a city hall signed an agreement that provides for a permanent exchange of information to combat illegal construction.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon