afrofeminist activist & councilwoman assassinated execution-style in rio

The activist community in Brazil is mourning the death of Afro-Brazilian political activist Marielle Franco, who was killed in a drive-by shooting. Franco, who grew up in the Maré favela, was a Rio city councilor from the far-left Socialism and Liberty party and an outspoken critic of the police violence and militarization that’s terrorized poor neighborhoods in Rio. She was returning from an event encouraging black women’s empowerment when another car pulled up alongside hers firing nine shots into the vehicle killing Franco and her driver, Anderson Pedro Gomes, and injuring her press secretary.

In February, Brazilian President Michel Temer deployed the military in the state of Rio and its favelas, effectively crushing the local communities between state sanctioned brutality and gang terrorism. Earlier this week Franco tweeted about the killing of a young man in the Jacarezinho favela, whose death the family blamed on the militarized police:

Mais um homicídio de um jovem que pode estar entrando para a conta da PM. Matheus Melo estava saindo da igreja. Quantos mais vão precisar morrer para que essa guerra acabe?

— Marielle Franco (@mariellefranco) March 13, 2018