According to local media research, every 10 minutes a person dies violently in the country

In order to curb the high rates of crime and violence in Brazil, President Michel Temer decreed the creation of a Ministry of Public Security. The measure accompanies the controversial military intervention in Rio de Janeiro.

Current Defense Minister Raul Jungmann will lead the ministry, and it will have under its control the Federal Police, the Highway Police, the National Penitentiary Department, and the National Security Ministry. With the joint work between these institutions, the Ministry of Public Security will coordinate with all states security policy. In this way, authorities can more efficiently neutralize criminal organizations and drug traffickers operating in different sectors of the South American giant.

The attempt to establish this ministry had already been anticipated by Temer in early February, after ordering the military intervention in Rio de Janeiro. However, on Monday 26th of the month mentioned, the spokesperson for the Presidency of the Republic, Alexandre Parola, made the official announcement stating that the ministry will be aimed at "coordinating the integration of public safety services throughout the national territory in collaboration with regional authorities".

In accordance with the provisions, the decree chaired by the Brazilian president entered IGNORE INTO force at the time of its announcement. However, the Congress will have up to 60 days from the date to endorse it.

Who is the new minister?

Analysis published in local media indicate that Raul Jungmann would have been elected to office as Minister of Public Safety because of his political profile and the results delivered during his administration of the Ministry of Defense. From this position, Jungmann led precise actions in terms of public safety in different states.

Jungmann was deputy and minister of Agrarian Reform under President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2002). Jungmann leaves the position in the Ministry of Defense and it will be occupied by Army General and current executive secretary of the Defense, Joaquim Silva.

Violence in Brazil: Is it more deadly than the war in Syria?

The announcement of the creation of the Ministry of Public Security in Brazil became known a few days after the conclusion of the emblematic Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The event this year was marked by a series of violent acts and several arrests. In recent years, Brazil has suffered a wave of violence sponsored by common crime, drug trafficking, and impunity.

In 2017, a documentary presented by local media O Globo, showed that the number of violent deaths in recent decades in Brazil is similar to the number of victims in Syria. According to data collected in the documentary 'A Guerra do Brasil' (The War of Brazil, in English) in the country every 10 minutes someone dies in violent or criminal act. Between 2001 and 2015, more than 786,000 people were killed, the number equivalent to the population of cities like Frankfurt, Seville, Athens, and Seattle.

Latin American Post | Krishna Jaramillo
Translated from “ Brasil: ¿Cómo combate la violencia?"