Unpacking Jacarezinho: Policing, Race, and Violence in Brazil

Brazil Institute Podcast

On May 6th, a police operation targeting gang members in Jacarezinho, in Rio de Janeiro, left 28 dead. It was the bloodiest police raid in the city’s history. But police violence is common in Rio’s favelas, with residents—often disproportionately Black and pardo—caught up in conflict between drug traffickers, paramilitary gangs, and the police. On this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, host Anya Prusa speaks with Ilona Szabó, the co-founder and president of the Igarapé Institute, and a recognized expert on questions of public security, crime, and violence in Brazil.