The Political Murder of Rio de Janeiro City Councilwoman Marielle Franco Generated Massive Protests in Brazil and Outrage Worldwide

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On March 14, 2018, Marielle Franco, Rio city council member, human rights activist, and critic of the military, was gunned down in an execution-style shooting that also killed her driver and injured her assistant. Franco was returning from an event in the Maré Favela zone organized to promote the empowerment of black women. The councilwoman, who herself grew up in a favela (a Brazilian shanty town or slum) and later trained as a sociologist, was active in the struggle for women’s rights. She had also recently spoken out against the military intervention declared by the federal government in her city. Her homicide, which had all the hallmarks of a well-planned political murder, spawned enormous protests and stimulated on-going discussion about violence against all types of activists in Brazil and beyond.

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