“Marielle, present!” For five years, the cry has been heard in demonstrations across the country. It expresses indignation at the murder of councilor Marielle Franco and driver Anderson Gomes. The cry is, at the same time, a tribute to the memory of those who dedicated a good part of their lives to the fight against inequalities. The shots that took Marielle’s life interrupted, at an early stage, an ascending political trajectory, but did not silence the guidelines she represented. Death reverberated her name across the world. From a direct agent, it became a symbol and inspiration for those who defend human rights and social justice. March 14 became “Marielle Franco Day – Day of Fight against Black Women’s Genocide” in the official calendar of the State of Rio de Janeiro . And it could also become a national date, if the National Congress approves the bill sent by President Lula last week. An auditorium at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) was named after her, as was the tribune of the Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro. Marielle Franco became the name of awards: one that included the best feminist essays by a book publisher and another, approved by the São Paulo City Council, to celebrate human rights defenders in the city. Samba schools paid tribute to her at the 2019 Carnival. In Rio, Estação Primeira de Mangueira mentioned the councilwoman in the samba-plot about resistance heroes. In São Paulo, her face was the highlight of a wing of Vai-Vai, which presented a plot about the struggles of black people. requests for justice. One of the most emblematic tributes, in 2018, demonstrators pasted a plaque with her name on top of the signage at Marechal Floriano square, in downtown Rio. Two far-right deputies (Rodrigo Amorim and Daniel Silveira) broke the sign in an election campaign act. But a large mobilization, which included crowdfunding, guaranteed the production of thousands more, just like the original. In 2021, Rio de Janeiro City Hall officially inaugurated a plaque in the same square. In 2022, a bronze statue of the councilwoman was placed in Buraco do Lume, also in Centro, in the place where she used to meet with voters and activists. International recognition came in different ways. A digital art workshop was held in Nairobi, Kenya, named after Marielle. It became the name of the terrace of the Biblioteca Municipal delle Oblate, in Florence, Italy; of a hanging garden in Paris, France; from a bus stop in Grenoble, in southeastern France; of a street in Lisbon, Portugal; of a scholarship at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC, United States. She had her name inserted on a sign at the Rio de Janeiro subway station, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her face has been painted on a mural in Berlin, Germany, and in graffiti on the facade of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. “When the first international tribute came, I remember perfectly the surprise I had. But I began to understand my sister’s mission here”, recalls the Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco. “I think Mari went through this to open many paths. She went through this to bring a strengthened vision for women, especially for black women, but for all women who recognized themselves in her and in the struggle. I think it has become ubiquitous.” Political legacy In addition to the tributes, Marielle’s legacy lived on, above all, through the direct political action of those who took up the guidelines she defended. The widow Mônica Benício was elected councilor in Rio by PSOL in 2020 with 22,919 votes. In the campaign, she promised to represent Marielle’s projects, focus on human rights and the demands of the LGBTQIA + universe. “Today, the meaning of my fight is precisely so that nobody feels a pain similar to the one I felt at that moment. This is a bit of what guides what I do both in institutional politics and in my work as a militant”, says Mônica. “Fighting for Marielle’s memory also speaks about a place that is not just that of my partner, but of all the aspects that today involve her image of representation, struggle, hope. This image of the political struggle is also an image that gives me hope for a better world, it gives me hope to understand that Marielle is still somewhere”. In 2019, three of Marielle’s direct advisors – who are also black and from the favelas – took on terms as state deputies. Renata Souza, Dani Monteiro and Mônica Francisco were part of the PSOL bench in the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj). In the following election, in 2022, the first two had a significant increase in votes and won a second term. Renata Souza, went from 63,937 to 174,132 votes; Dani Monteiro, from 27,982 to 50,140 votes. “Marielle was too big for a single person to represent her entire struggle. Marielle’s greatness represents the fight for a new society. And the main message left by her is that humanity does not become dehumanized. Marielle is present in all struggles against social inequalities, especially against gender, race and class inequalities”, says Renata Souza. “May we feel affection for each other, to ensure that life is full for anyone, be it a woman, black, poor, indigenous, quilombola, caiçara, or the LGBTQIA+ population. May we have that level of humanity that Marielle taught us so much”. Renata Souza and Dani Monteiro are among the 44 people elected in 2022, in the National Congress and in the country’s Legislative Assemblies, who adopted the guidelines of the Marielle Franco Agenda. The project, created in 2020, brings together a set of political commitments inspired by the councilwoman’s legacy, such as anti-racism, feminism, LGBTQIA+ rights, health and public education, environmental and climate justice, as well as demands from residents of favelas and peripheries. Marielle Franco Institute The director of the Marielle institute, Lígia Batista, (in yellow), receives the councilwoman’s father, daughter and mother – Personal archive The Marielle Franco Institute is coordinating the Agenda, created by the councilwoman’s family in 2018. The initial purpose was defend the parliamentarian’s memory and put pressure on authorities investigating the murder. But the Institute expanded its reach and also started to focus on promoting social change. On the official page, it states that one of the missions is to “enhance and support women, black people and favela residents who want to occupy politics, so that decision-making spaces have more of the people’s face”. Anielle Franco, the councilwoman’s sister, was in charge from its inception until the beginning of this year, when she took over as Minister of Racial Equality. Anielle coordinated a series of projects at the Marielle Franco Institute. Among them, the launch of the Anti-Racist Platform (Pane) in 2020, to support black candidacies in municipal elections, and the Marielles School project in 2021, to politically train women from minority groups. “I needed to take care of my family, take care of this legacy, take care of this memory. And I don’t say ‘take care’ as a person who will take it, have it as a possession, but to legitimize the struggle that belongs to a black family, which has always fought to have everything they had. And three things motivated me to continue: taking care of that memory, taking care of my mother and my niece”, says the minister. The Marielle Franco Institute is currently under new management: Lígia Batista, 29 years old. She has a degree in law and a master’s degree in Public Policy and Human Rights. Previously, she worked at Amnesty International Brazil and the Open Society Foundations. The director emphasizes that defending Marielle’s legacy is inspiring black, LGBTQIA+ and peripheral women to occupy spaces of power and decision-making. “May fear not be an impediment for them to be there. At the same time that we want to see more and more black women elected, we also want them to sustain themselves in power. So, we understand the place of the debate on political violence as very central to this work. Especially because the Institute arises from a political femicide. Our intention is to mobilize through this work with memory. May people not forget Marielle’s story, do not forget this political legacy left to Brazil”, she says.
Agência Brasil
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