In today’s issue: What’s behind Brazil’s drop in murders. After ‘pact,’ government believes in rapid vote on pension reform. Unqualified labor can’t occupy basic spots. The rape accusation against Neymar.
What’s behind Brazil’s drop in murders
In 2018, Brazil registered its biggest drop in murders in over a decade (13%)—a trend that has continued this year. Gang wars are the main reasons for spikes in murder rates across several states in the past few years—while peace between drug lords is also part of the lowering number of deaths. Meanwhile, authorities in some states have adopted a harder—but organized—stance against organized crime, such as:
Stricter monitoring inside prisons, with constant search and seize operations to detect the presence of drugs or cell phones inside cells. Many prisons implemented the so-called “Differentiated Disciplinary System,” which segregates dangerous inmates in individual cells with close monitoring.
Transfer of notorious gang leaders to federal maximum security facilities—where they will have a tougher time communicating with other gang members.
Integration between law enforcement, security forces, and the justice system. In many states where murder rates dropped as much as 30% in 2018, authorities created a special Homicides division (in...