The intense red of the paint that touched up the painting on the sidewalk in front of the Candelária Church, in downtown Rio de Janeiro, draws the attention of passers-by. The representation of the eight boys and teenagers shot dead in the early hours of July 23, 1993, around the church, shares space with a wooden cross and plaques with their names. Everything was restored to remember the crime, which became known internationally as the Candelária Massacre, and which completes 30 years this Sunday (23). Social movements have programmed activities in memory of the victims, who were aged between 11 and 19 and lived on the streets. On Friday (21) there was a vigil, which brought together mothers and families, and this Sunday (23), activists return to Candelária for an act. On Monday (24), there will be washing of the church stairs, mass and walk. At night, the statue of Christ the Redeemer will be illuminated with green hope. In these 30 years of the crime, other massacres took place in the state, and in several of these cases, the accused were agents, who, legally, should protect lives. A study published in April of this year by Geni, the New Illegalities Study Group of the Fluminense Federal University, showed that, from 2007 to 2022 alone, 629 massacres were recorded as a result of police actions in the state. That is, occurrences that left three or more dead, according to the research methodology. No less than 2,500 people lost their lives in these episodes. For the sociologist and coordinator of Geni, Daniel Hirata, the massacres are the result of a very intimate coexistence between formally democratic institutions and certain state sectors, particularly those linked to the use of force. “As the decades went by, massacres became predominant in police operations in actions endorsed by the political and police powers”, he explained. Márcia Gatto, representative of the Movimento Candelária Nunca Mais and member of the State Council for the Defense of the Rights of Children and Adolescents, said that Rio has a very “aggressive and violent” security policy, which causes not only massacres, but also the deaths of children and young people, in isolation. “It is a really homicidal policy and there is a segment that is black and poor. It does not guarantee rights and yes, it is always violating rights, which is the right to life for these people”, she noted. Educator Yvonne Bezerra de Mello worked with street children and adolescents in the Candelária region when the massacre took place in 1993. The education project maintained by her at that time evolved and became the Uerê Non-Governmental Organization, aimed at those who have cognitive and emotional blocks, due to constant exposure to trauma and violence. “The Candelária massacre was of no use, violence is constant, more people are killed here than most countries in the world”, explained the educator. Two military police officers and a former police officer were convicted of the massacre, all with sentences exceeding 200 years in prison. According to the Rio Court of Justice, PM Nelson Oliveira dos Santos served his sentence until his extinction in 2008. PM Marco Aurélio Dias de Alcântara and former PM Marcus Vinícius Emmanuel Borges served their sentences until they received pardons in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The crime would have happened because, the day before, the boys threw stones at a Military Police car. A survivor of the massacre, Wagner dos Santos, who was shot four times, ended up becoming a key player in the elucidation of the crime. In a note, the Military Police informed that its actions have “as a central concern the preservation of lives and unrestricted compliance with the legislation in force”. The Municipal Social Assistance Secretariat of the city of Rio, also through a note, explained that there is a temporary institutional shelter service to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents in situations of social vulnerability who needed to be removed from their families or homes. Sought, the Civil Police did not manifest. *With information from Agência Brasil. Listen on the National Radio Agency
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