Rio’s city council approves last Marielle Franco projects – sort of

Rio de Janeiro’s city council assembled on Wednesday to vote on the final projects of Rio de Janeiro’s iconic councilwoman Marielle Franco. Franco, who was murdered on March 14 in what police believe was a politically motivated killing, was only elected in October 2016, yet had been one of the municipality’s most active politicians. Franco introduced 13 laws within her first 13 months in office, asserting the rights of the city’s Afro-Brazilians, women, LGBTQ population and its favelas.

While city lawmakers did vote on five of the seven remaining bills, two were left out – and both were among Franco’s dearest: one concerning the regulation of legal abortions (which are allowed in cases of rape, health risks for the mother, and babies lacking brains), and another one protecting the right to gender identity in schools.

Prior to the sitting, Franco’s team created an online campaign to pressure the city’s politicians into voting in favor of the bills. Within the campaign’s first 24 hours, residents had sent more than 10,000 emails to city councilors demanding they pass...