The Assassination of Marielle Franco
On March 14, 2018. Marielle Franco, a city council member and her driver were shot to death on a downtown street Wednesday night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s second largest city where the military was put in charge of police a month ago after a surge in violence.
Two police officials told The Associated Press that two men in a car fired nine shots into the vehicle carrying the 38-year-old Franco and her driver, Anderson Pedro Gomes. A press officer was injured in the backseat, but survived, the officials said.
The long-time activist was elected to the city council in 2016 and had been a vocal critic of the military’s takeover of security in Rio the last month amid a spike in violence
Her death has touched a nerve with many in a nation where more than 50 percent identify as black or mixed race, but where most politicians are white men.
For many, she was a symbol of change because she herself emerged from Mare, a warren of slums that is one of Rio’s roughest areas. Latin America’s largest nation is one of the most unequal in the world, making Franco’s rise in politics all the more unusual.
Thousands of Brazilians demanded answers about the assassination of Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco, an attack that has shaken the nation and remains a mystery.
On December 14, 2018, Rio de Janeiro’s public security secretary, Gen. Richard Nunes, said, that the assassination of a city councilwoman in March was committed by militia members who saw her as a threat to their attempts to take over lands in the western part of the city.
Militias are criminal organizations, often comprised of corrupt police, which establish themselves in poor Brazilian communities lacking a strong government presence. They derive much of their income from extorting rent and protection money in the areas they control.
People cry on the sidewalk next to place where of the council member Marielle Franco her driver have been shot to death by two unidentified attackers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, March 15, 2018. The official tells The Associated Press that nine shots were fired into the car carrying Marielle Franco and her driver Wednesday night. He says it appears Franco was targeted. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Police officers works on the crime scene as they stand next to vehicle in which was the council member Marielle Franco and her driver where both have been shot to death by two unidentified attackers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, March 14, 2018. The official tells The Associated Press that nine shots were fired into the car carrying Marielle Franco and her driver Wednesday night. He says it appears Franco was targeted. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Pall bearers carry the coffins containing the remains of Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Pedro Gomes past a crowd of thousands gathered outside City Hall, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, March 15, 2018. The popular Rio de Janeiro councilwoman was shot in the head four times by assassins, police said Thursday, a brazen murder that shocked Brazil and raised questions about the effectiveness of a military intervention in the city. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Relatives express their grief during the burial of councilwoman Marielle Franco who was gunned down the night before by two unidentified attackers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, March 15, 2018. Police said the 38-year-old councilor, who was known for her social work in slums, was killed by perpetrators who knew exactly where she was sitting in a car that had blackout windows. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
People march during a protest against the murder of councilwoman Marielle Franco in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, March 16, 2018. Franco was slain Wednesday night while returning from an event focused on empowering young black women. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
People gather in front the Municipal Theater, in downtown, during a protest against the violence and due the death of councilwoman Marielle Franco who was gunned down the night before by two unidentified attackers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, March 15, 2018. Police said the 38-year-old councilor, who was known for her social work in slums, was killed by perpetrators who knew exactly where she was sitting in a car that had blackout windows. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A man holds a sign that reads in Portuguese "Will I be the next?" as he shouts slogans against the military intervention of Rio, during a protest after the death of councilwoman Marielle Franco, who was gunned down the night before by two unidentified attackers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, March 15, 2018. Police said the 38-year-old councilor, who was known for her social work in slums, was killed by perpetrators who knew exactly where she was sitting in a car that had blackout windows. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
People shout "Marielle present" during a march against the murder of the councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver at Mare Complex slums in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, March 18, 2018. Franco who was human rights activist was slain Wednesday night while returning from an event focused on empowering young black women. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Protesters march against the murder of councilwoman and human rights activist Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Pedro Gomes, along a road known as the yellow line in the Mare Complex slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, March 18, 2018. Franco's murder came just a month after the government put the military in charge of security in Rio, which is experiencing a sharp spike in violence less than two years after hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
People graffitis a image depicting the councilwoman Marielle Franco that reads in Portuguese "Marielle present today and forever" during a march against her murder at the Mare Complex slums in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, March 18, 2018. Franco who was human rights activist was slain Wednesday night while returning from an event focused on empowering young black women. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A woman cries as she stands on the site where human rights activist and councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Pedro Gomes were killed a month earlier, during a protest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, April 14, 2018. Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets to demand answers in the death of Franco, whose slaying is seen by her backers as a political assassination. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
This April 14, 2018 file photo shows an image of slain councilwoman Marielle Franco projected on a wall, where people gather at the site where Franco and her driver Anderson Pedro Gomes were killed, during a protest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A Rio police detective said Tuesday, July 24, 2018, a witness has linked two people arrested in a double homicide to the murder of the activist city councilwoman whose death shocked Brazil. Franco and her driver were shot dead in March. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)
Councilwoman Taliria Petrone shouts slogans during a protest one month after the killing of councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Pedro Gomes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, April 14, 2018. Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets to demand answers in the death of Franco, whose slaying is seen by her backers as a political assassination. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
People take part in a protest against the murder of councilwoman Marielle Franco in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, March 20, 2018. Franco's murder came just a month after the government put the military in charge of security in Rio, which is experiencing a sharp spike in violence less than two years after hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A woman holds up a candle during a protest after the death of the councilwoman Marielle Franco in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, March 16, 2018. Franco was slain Wednesday night while returning from an event focused on empowering young black women. Her death touched a nerve in Latin America's largest nation, where more than 50 percent identify as black or mixed-race yet most politicians are white men. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
People hold street signs honoring slain councilwoman Marielle Franco as they mark the 7th month since her murder in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018. Franco supporters distributed a thousand street signs in memory of her after a video on social media showed one being destroyed by two politicians with the right wing Social Liberal Party. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Monica Benicio, the widow of slain councilwoman Marielle Franco rises her fist during a demonstration marking the 7th month since her wife's murder in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018. Franco supporters distributed a thousand street signs in memory of her after a video on social media showed one being destroyed by two politicians with the right wing Social Liberal Party. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)