Exploitation of Brazilians

The Brazilian government is not holding its police force responsible for prison murders.  In 1992, Brazil’s worst prison massacre occurred in the Carandiru Detention Center when riot police from the Brazilian police force forcibly put down a riot after a fight broke out between two prisoners from rival gangs over exercise space.  103 prisoners were killed when police fired over 500 rounds, and 8 prisoners later died from stab wounds, bringing the total dead prisoners to 111 and the total police officers killed to zero.  At the time, the Commander of the Metropolitan Sao Paulo Police was Ubiratan Guimaraes.  When informed of the situation, Guimaraes called for reinforcements from the Brazilian police force, who arrived 30 minutes after being sent.  At this time, many prisoners “displayed their willingness to negotiate by throwing their weapons from windows and hanging truce flags from the prison walls” but the order was still given by Guimaraes to invade the area.

Guimaraes was tried for the murder of 102 of the inmates and was convicted.  The issue arises when the case was appealed.  The court overturned the ruling because Guimaraes claimed his forces were acting in self defense and the police force he sent also claimed the same.  This overruling was ludicrous; the “same defense was declared illegitimate almost 50 years earlier during the Nuremberg Trials examining the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany.”  During the Brazilian prison massacre 111 prisoners were killed and no one was charged for any of their deaths.  The Brazilian government trusts the statements of government officials even if their actions are illegal and wrong.  The government is looking to protect its own and is following a part of history that has been declared illegitimate and that so many people look down upon.  With so many prisoners willing to negotiate or surrender when the police force first arrived, what right did Guimaraes have to give the order to invade?  I believe the massacre wouldn’t have occurred if Guimaraes had been willing to work with the inmates and if the police force hadn’t gone into the area looking to kill any inmates in site.  The few rights that Brazilians in prison have are being ignored and due to this exploitation of rights, massacres, such as the one in the Carandiru Detention Center, will continue to happen as government officials receive no punishment for their actions.

Today in History: The Carandiru Prison Massacre