Violence returns to a “pacified” Rio slum

On Sunday, September 4, a conflict between inhabitants of the Complexo do Alemão slum and the police turned into a riot.

The Complexo do Alemão, a huge slum in Rio de Janeiro, was “invaded” by
heavily armed police and army soldiers, known as Pacification Police
Units (“UPPs” or “Força de Pacificação”), at the end of last year. The
UPPs drove drug lords out of the slum without firing a shot and since
then have been replaced by regular police and social assistance units.
The UPP program is slowly “pacifying” Rio slums (more than a dozen so
far) and then making government services available to the inhabitants.
However, the program has not been completely without problems.

On Sunday, in the Complexo do Alemão slum, police asked a large, unruly
group of people watching a soccer match to reduce the noise, which they
refused to do. Bottles, rocks and other objects were thrown at UPP
members who fired rubber bullets and used pepper spray. A number of
people were injured.

On Monday, September 5, there was another conflict between police and
inhabitants; this time, motorcycle taxi drivers (their vehicles are the
only ones that can navigate many of the winding narrow alleys in the
upper parts of the slum) refused to obey the police. Shortly after the
second confrontation, some inhabitants demonstrated in favor of the UPP
leaving the slum. Government attorneys were sent into the area to
investigate the incidents.

On September 6, Tuesday, for the first time since the end of last year
when the area was occupied by the UPP, shots were fired into the
Complexo do Alemão slum (they seemed to come from other slums, known as
Favela da Grota, Morro do Baiana and Morro do Adeus). Immediately, some
50 UPP soldiers, armed with rifles, were mobilized and closed off the
Complexo do Alemão, setting up barriers and checkpoints at entrances to
the slum. The shooting started around 7:30 pm near a cable car station,
known as Itararé Estação. It seems that drug lords, expelled from
Complexo do Alemão but still in the general area, now emboldened by
repeated conflicts between inhabitants and the UPPs, were firing from
hillsides outside the slum. There was rifle fire and pistol fire. Some
grenades also exploded.

According to military spokespersons, a total of 1,700 military
personnel are in the Complexo do Alemão slum and at least another 200
are in reserve. The UPP also has armored vehicles that can drive up into
the slum if necessary.

Inhabitants report that there have not been a lot of changes since the
UPP arrived. There is less gunfire, they say, but their daily lives are
pretty much the same. One woman said she had more hope that her young
son would not get involved in drugs. “We try to keep our kids away from
drugs but it is not easy. Now I do have more hope that he can have a
good life,” she said.