Chapter 8 - State violence, policing and paramilitaries

How a short-lived rebellion in 1922 by a tiny group of army officers inspired the 'tenentes' movement, influenced the 1964 military coup, and is still remembered today in street names, monuments and, perhaps, by a military debating its position in the 2022 elections.

Anti-Black violence by the Police targets young men in Brazil's favelas and makes their mothers 'orphans'. Their trauma and spectacular resistance are highlighted in this new film, reviwed for LAB by Jessica Pandian

Jair Bolsonaro has launched a frontal assault on the same electoral system which brought him to the presidency. This is part of a three-pronged strategy to discredit Brazil's democracy and refuse to accept any outcome other than his own victory

Recalling the famous 1977 Letter for Democracy, the 2022 Carta pela Democracia has gathered more than a million signatures from lawyers, academics, trade unionists, black leaders, business leaders and trades unionists -- all warning against any attempt by Bolsonaro to stage a coup if he should lose the presidential election

At least 58 indigenous people were killed in the Brazilian, Colombian, Ecuadorean and Peruvian Amazon between 2016 and 2021. In this article, Mongabay outlines the patterns, the involvement of state actors and the cloud of impunity surrounding these crimes

Peruvian coca farmers are actively recruiting Brazilian indigenous workers from the Alto Salimöes region to harvest and transport coca. Violence and exploitation are rife.

My Imaginary Country, which premiered to standing ovations at Cannes this year, is perhaps the documentary Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán has always wanted to make. 

Cornelia Gräbner describes an extraordinary set of documents which capture the most intense and dangerous phase of repression in El Salvador, leading up to the 1992 Peace Accords.

The latest report from Global Witness confirms the rising trend in killings of environmental defenders, with Mexico becoming the most dangerous country in a very dangerous region which now accounts for over 75% of lethal attacks in the world.

Lula's narrow victory in Brazil's second-round presidential election on November 30 raised fears of a coup. Jair Bolsonaro initially declined to recognize the result and waited to see if his supporters would stage an insurrection. Lorry blockades gradually dispersed, however, and the army remained passive. Brazilian democracy looks safe at least for the present.