German and Swiss guns fuel armed conflict and police violence in Brazil

Demonstrators in Brasília asking for extended gun ownership rights in Brazil. Photo: Elio Rizzo/Ag. F8/Folhapress

According to a report from gun violence NGO Instituto Sou da Paz, more than half of firearms seized by police forces in four states — Bahia, Pernambuco, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro — in 2018 and 2019 originated in Brazil, but a growing 6 percent consisted of European weapons, mainly from Germany and Switzerland.

While this may seem a small percentage, these European-made guns make up a much more significant share of highly lethal weapons seized: 18 percent of pistols, 11 percent of submachine guns, and 8 percent of shotguns.

According to Natália Pollachi, project manager at Instituto Sou da Paz, Brazil is fighting gun trafficking “blindfolded.” The official response, she says, is disorganized and lacks data. Furthermore, she adds that the institute manages the “only updated database on the origin of guns seized from criminals” in the country, and that the NGO’s latest report relies on information from sporadic state public security departments — not the federal government.

The publication comes as the first...

Diogo Rodriguez

Diogo Rodriguez is a social scientist and journalist based in São Paulo. He worked in the first Brazilian Report team, back in 2017, leaving in 2018 to pursuit a master's degree from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. He has returned to The Brazilian Report in 2023.