Many dead and massive looting during one week police strike in Brazil (2 articles)

115 dead in a week: Criminals go on rampage as Brazil police strike

'The right to protest is guaranteed but not the right to offend, to prey on, or to threaten people,' state governor says

By Sergio Queiroz and Eduardo Simões

updated 2/7/2012 2:15:07 PM ET 2012-02-07T19:15:07

SALVADOR, Brazil — A toll of 115 murders and widespread looting, assaults and vandalism in the past week are roiling Brazil's third-biggest city, casting doubts over upcoming carnival celebrations and raising questions about security ahead of the soccer World Cup in 2014.

More than 3,000 federal troops were dispatched to the northeastern state of Bahia in recent days to restore order after much of the state's military police force went on strike last Tuesday to demand higher wages.

The military police force, normally charged with routine order and security in Brazil, has stood by as criminals — some of them allegedly members of the police force themselves — have run rampant.

About 20 percent of the state's police, or about 6,000 officers, have taken part in the strike, the government said.

The city of Salvador, the state capital known as a locus of Afro-Brazilian culture and popular as a foreign tourist destination, has borne the brunt of the spree of violence.

Less than two weeks before the start of Salvador's popular carnival celebration, which regularly draws a half-million visitors to its seaside colonial streets, the chaos is prompting residents to stay home while shopkeepers to shutter their doors and would-be visitors to cancel their plans.

Brazil's recent economic boom has brought growing prosperity to Bahia and much of the rest of the country's historically poor northeast, but the strike and its fallout underscore what many Brazilians say remains a fragile state of preparedness in public services and institutions.

The fragility, analysts say, manifests itself anytime a contingency tests reflexes for everything from natural disasters to transport strikes to organized crime waves.

"There's a contrast here between rapid economic growth and a sluggish ability for many public institutions to evolve," said Claudio Couto, a professor of public administration at the Fundacao Getúlio Vargas, a business school in Sao Paulo. "The government isn't able to keep up and that shows in its overall preparedness."

The issue of preparedness is critical in places like Salvador, one of 12 Brazilian cities chosen as a venue for soccer's World Cup, just two years away. The tournament, along with the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, is highly anticipated in Brazil as a chance for the country to showcase its recent progress on the global stage.

Economic progress, skyrocketing crime
In Salvador and the rest of Brazil's northeast, the economic progress has brought an unwelcome consequence: skyrocketing crime. Fueled by a growing drug trade, an inflow of poor migrants and still lingering inequality between the region's haves and have-nots, northeastern cities regularly rank among the most violent in Brazil.

"The management of public security there is a failure," Jose Vicente da Silva, a retired police colonel and former national security secretary, said in a televised interview on Tuesday.

For Bahia Governor Jaques Wagner, a star of Brazil's ruling Workers' Party and a key ally of President Dilma Rousseff, the strike has led to marathon negotiations with the striking police, who say they are underpaid and overburdened by the rising crime.

The governor already agreed to a 6.5 percent salary increase for the police but has refused to grant an amnesty for striking workers who have committed crimes.

"The right to protest is guaranteed but not the right to offend, to prey on, or to threaten people," the governor told Brazilian television on Tuesday.

For the people of Bahia, the past week's tumult has created a general sense of unease.

The 115 homicides reported by state authorities by early Tuesday far exceed the state's already high numbers for a weeklong period, the government said, without providing comparable data.

While the arrival of federal troops helped allay the initial alarm, security experts have criticized the measure, calling soldiers, trained for military exercises, poor substitutes for everyday police officers.

'Feeling of insecurity'
And because many of the troops have been dispatched to the focus of the protests, a state assembly house where striking police have sought refuge, citizens say they still feel unprotected.

"There's a feeling of insecurity," said Andre Mariano, a college student who was picking up friends at the Salvador airport Tuesday morning. "You don't see officials out on the street — neither police nor soldiers."

Travel businesses, meanwhile, are bracing for the strike's impact during what should be a peak time for revenues.

Already, local tourism officials have said as many as 10 percent of their unpaid reservations for carnival and beyond have been canceled in recent days.

"It's going to be much worse if this doesn't get resolved," said Pedro Galvao, president of the Bahia chapter of the Brazilian Association of Travel Agents. "People don't travel to places where they will be scared."

Late last week, the U.S. Embassy in Brazil advised Americans to "consider delaying any non-essential travel" to Bahia "until the security conditions have stabilized."

Additional reporting by Esteban Israel and Paulo Prada in São Paulo; writing by Paulo Prada.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46298610/ns/world_news-americas/t/dead-...

Talks to end Brazil police strike in Bahia break down

Soldiers maintain blockade of state legislature in Salvador

Some 3,000 troops and extra police are patrolling in Bahia to try to keep order

Some 300 officers remain holed up in the state legislature in the capital, Salvador, with the building surrounded by soldiers and federal police.

The strike has led to a spike in crime, with more than 100 murders in Salvador.

The stoppage, ruled illegal by the courts, comes just days before the city is set to welcome tens of thousands of tourists for carnival celebrations.

Bahia tourism officials insist that the partying will go ahead as scheduled.

But the Brazilian Association of Travel Agencies says some 10% of visitors have cancelled their trips.

Salvador, Brazil's third biggest city, is one of the venues for the football World Cup in 2014.

The Bahia government says about one third of the 30,000 state police officers are involved in the industrial action.

The officers, who say they are underpaid and facing rising crime, are seeking big pay rises. They are also calling for an amnesty for the walkout.

Police officers currently earn between $1,100 and $1,330 in Bahia.

Brazilian soldiers patrol the historic centre of Salvador

Salvador is a popular tourist destination

Bahia Governor Jacques Wagner says he has a limited budget but pay rises could be phased in over three years.

He has insisted that striking officers who commit crimes will be punished.

"The right to protest is guaranteed but not the right to offend, to prey on, or to threaten people," Mr Wagner told Brazilian television.

Some officers have been arrested for allegedly organising roving gangs and robbing police cars, the Associated Press reported.

However, violence has dropped since some 3,000 soldiers and federal police were sent to patrol the streets at the weekend.

Authorities in Rio de Janeiro are also braced for a possible strike by police officers, firefighters and prison guards starting on Friday.

They all complain of low pay and poor working conditions.

Rio's government has offered a 39% rise over two years, which is due to be voted on by state lawmakers on Thursday.

Rio's Carnival celebrations officially get under way on 18 February

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-16941377

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Comment by Ragnarok on February 9, 2012 at 6:26am: CEILING ! SORRY

Comment by Ragnarok on February 9, 2012 at 6:23am: Well its true in a philosophically way. Bill is one of the few persons in this solar system i admire. He was way head of his time and that he actually meant and lived every word he said. Just says he really cared and had some kind of personal mission to get people to wake up. Many things he said is spot on what happening today or os still going on this day. No doubt he had many inner demons but he at least kept fighting till the end. And didnt lived his life in a couch watching sports, eating KFC and getting a heart attack, only to be found months later due to he's leaked through the celling and neighbor complained.

Comment by TommyD on February 9, 2012 at 6:06am: I do not think that it is that I am a forgiving person per se, I do like to think that I am an understanding person and that I see why these things happen in our universe. I also understand that the only way to combat the fear is through love. Like Bill Hicks says, it all comes down to a simple choice..love or fear....

Comment by Ragnarok on February 9, 2012 at 6:00am: I get what you're saying. Wonderful life philosophy.! I'm maybe not so forgiving when it comes to the ones that has lead us to this state on earth and their capo's. I simply can't close my eyes to the crimes they've committed to mankind and nature. But treating my surroundings with respect i do. Or living by the old saying "dont shit where you eat" :-P PZ BRO

Comment by TommyD on February 9, 2012 at 5:31am: I commend you. I am not saying that I am immune to fear but I have begun to recognize it when it rears its ugly head. It then becomes a choice of giving into it or feeling love.

I have been talking to people everywhere I go about this. It is a much easier subject to speak about than any of the evidence of conspiracy that I might show. People WANT to feel love. I have been using imagry to help them see what I am saying. For instance...if you have a child, picture that child in your mind, happy and full of love...are you picturing it? Do you feel that energy? Now, believe this, you can call that energy back to you at will and even have it surround you all the time....I told this to an elderly lady who has been a close friend for years. Her doberman accidentally knocked her from her porch and she broke three ribs. She called me from the hospital , in extreme pain..I reminded her about love. She was released from the hospital the very next day, having no difficulty breathing and only a slight soreness where her ribs were broken. This is the power of love, brother..and I absolutely love it.

Comment by Ragnarok on February 9, 2012 at 5:18am: I do fear but only when its really burning under my feet. I must admit i kinda have switched off my love/hate button. I filter must things out when im out shopping, taking courses or whatever simply because they arent worth remembering. I'm always the first on the spot if people needs help or assistance (while many simply ignores such incidents) i really dont care much for race, religion either. It's about being able to look in the mirror later on in life and then see a fair, honest, kind, helpful and independent person who didnt bowed down to any created fake ideals and didnt buy all the deceit and cruelty.

Comment by TommyD on February 9, 2012 at 5:03am: As long as the message is fueled by love its all good. I read, hear and see, so many items on the web, in life, even in my own home, that are backed by fear. fear of loss, fear of reprisal, fear of this and that.

Isn't it ironic that when people feel an imminent sense of loss, they then awaken to the threat? This ,again, is a fear fueled reaction and only perpetuates the fear. I used to operate out of fear...of the government, loss of liberty, CPS taking my kids, losing my home, job, all the things I held dear. That only brought more fear and discord to my life. Since I began to consciously choose to feel love, I fear nothing. I am not saying that fear doesn't rise up and try to take control..it does. but by choosing love, I know I have won the battle.

Comment by Ragnarok on February 9, 2012 at 4:56am: Well i think many people do great sacrifices each day for truth and righteousness its just that theyre totally blacked out. I speak out almost everyday (not like some crazed madman) i just pick up on certain situations to create a topic which then i hope to plant a seed or two in their minds. I've been so outspoken that i have gotten threats, pushed around, kidnapped and beaten up by cops, internet comments and blogs deleted, laughed at and so on and so on. But i've had some great reactions and possitive stories as well and i've never had so many as in these last 3-4 years. Funny story is that it seems when people get their personal economy attacked then they wake up a lot faster.

Comment by TommyD on February 9, 2012 at 4:46am: Then doesn't it fall onto us, the awakened, to enlighten the people the best way we can. I don't have all the answers but I am constantly searching, evolving in mind body and spirit towards the truth. I have healed my back issues simply by using the positive energy of love, I have seen many things in my life begin to transform in just the manner I imagined. I feel it my duty, my obligation, to the rest of humanity to spread love and truth rather than succumb to general consensus and keep quiet out of fear of reprisal..Gandhi didn't back down...King didn't back down...Jesus didn't back down..why should any of us back down...we know that love is the answer.....

Comment by Ragnarok on February 9, 2012 at 4:41am: Because someone greedy and twisted introduced the power and money wildcard and people fell for it.