Special operation arrests those responsible for the murder of Marielle Franco

The perpetrators of the crime, according to Lessa, are part of a powerful political group in Rio with various interests in different sectors of the State. The former PM gave details of meetings with them and clues about their motivations, which were not disclosed to the press.

Who was Marielle Franco

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Born and raised in Complexo da Maré, in Rio de Janeiro, Marielle became more active in human rights activism after losing a friend in 2005, victim of a stray bullet, in a shootout between police and drug traffickers in the community where she lived. This struggle continued until the end of his life, at the age of 38.

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One day before she was murdered, in March 2018, Marielle vented on social media about the long and bloody drug war in communities in Rio de Janeiro. “How many more will need to die for this war to end?” she wrote in a tweet.

How many more will need to die for this war to end?

Marielle Franco, councilor murdered in 2018.

Through education, she found more tools to fight for the causes she defended. Marielle graduated in Social Sciences from PUC-Rio and received a master’s degree in Public Administration from Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), where she defended her dissertation with the theme: “UPP: reducing the favela to three letters”.

In addition to working in various feminist, black and favela collectives and movements, her career was also marked by participating in civil society organizations such as the Brasil Foundation and the Centro de Ações Solidárias da Maré (Ceasm).

Political trajectory

In 2006, Marielle was part of the campaign team in Maré that elected Marcelo Freixo (PSOL) as state deputy – after Freixo’s victory, she was even appointed as his parliamentary advisor. Then, she moved on to the next challenge: coordinating the Commission for the Defense of Human Rights and Citizenship of the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj).

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In 2016, she was elected councilor of the Rio Chamber of Deputies for Psol, with 46.5 thousand votes – the fifth most voted. She also chaired the Chamber’s Women’s Committee. Her mandate would last until 2020, but was interrupted by the brutal crime that took the lives of Marielle and driver Anderson Gomes, inside a car, returning from a work event, in the center of Rio de Janeiro.

According to data from the Rio City Council, compiled by Agência Brasil, in 13 months in office, Marielle was involved in 19 bills. Three of them were approved and became law when the councilor was still alive:

• an ordinary law that established limits on management contracts between the municipality of Rio and social organizations in the health sector;
• an ordinary law, in the name of the Women’s Defense Commission, which established guidelines for creating birth centers and care for pregnant and postpartum women;
• a complementary law that authorized the motorcycle taxi service in the city.

In February 2018, a month before her death, Marielle was chosen as rapporteur for a committee in the Chamber that would monitor the actions of troops in the federal intervention in Rio.

Marielle’s legacy

In addition to all the honors, awards and popular mobilizations, Marielle’s political legacy continues to live on through the women who continue to this day fighting for a better Brazil – and world –. (They call themselves ‘Marielle’s seeds’, did you know that?)

The current minister of Racial Equality is Anielle Franco. She, together with Luyara and the entire family, also created the Marielle Franco Institute in 2019. It is a non-profit organization, to preserve the memory of the councilor, demand answers and justice regarding the crime that occurred, in addition to developing actions social programs aimed at black women and young people from peripheral areas.

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President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in 2023, signed a bill with the aim of March 14 becoming the “Marielle Franco National Day to Combat Political Violence of Gender and Race”. If approved, the date will be incorporated into the official national calendar.