Marielle Franco

Marielle Franco was a Brazilian politician, sociologist, feminist, socialist and human rights activist. Franco served as a city councillor of the Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro for the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) from January 2017 until her assassination. On 14 March 2018, while in a car after delivering a speech in the north of Rio de Janeiro, Franco and her driver were shot multiple times and killed by two unknown attackers. Franco had been an outspoken critic of police brutality and extrajudicial killings, as well as the February 2018 federal intervention by Brazilian president Michel Temer in the state of Rio de Janeiro which resulted in the deployment of the army in police operations. Franco was raised in Maré, a slum in northern Rio de Janeiro, where she also resided for most of her life, and began to work to contribute to the household income in 1990 when she was 11 years old. She had a sister, Anielle. Marielle gave birth to her first and only child in 1998 when she was 19 years old. Franco raised her daughter without the father's help and worked as a pre-school teacher on a minimum wage. In 2004, Franco, who throughout her career fought for LGBT rights, started a romantic relationship with Monica Benicio. In 2017, the couple decided to move in together in the Tijuca neighborhood with Luyara, Marielle's daughter. Their wedding was scheduled for the end of 2018. In 2000, she began her pre-university studies. Following the death of a friend from a stray bullet in 2000, Franco began working in human rights activism. She entered the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro on a scholarship and continued working and raising her daughter as she worked towards a degree in social sciences. She subsequently earned a master's degree in public administration from the Fluminense Federal University. Her master's thesis (titled UPP: The Reduction of the Favela to Three Letters concerns the law enforcement program to retake control of Rio's favelas from gangs. In 2005, Franco joined Marcelo Freixo, a state representative for the Socialist party, as his congressional consultant. During those years she helped create the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights and Citizenship. In 2016, she was elected to the Rio City Council with 46,000 votes becoming the sole black female representative. Her murder was deemed suspicious for several reasons: her attendance at the political event “Young Black Women Moving Structures” that night, her recently filed formal complaint against police for suspected murders, and one month prior, Brazil’s President Michel Temer had ordered the military to occupy the city in a security attempt, but she opposed the intervention publicly and had just been appointed to monitor the militarization of the police. It was later discovered that the bullets fired at her were originally sold to the Federal Police, reportedly stolen, and used in other killings. Demonstrations were held across the globe, and approximately 100,000 people protested on March 15 in Rio in Franco’s memory. Amnesty International and the UN of Brazil were among the many organizations demanding a serious investigation into the drive-by shooting. Her final words on Twitter posted on March 13 addressed the issue of police violence in Brazil, an issue she had battled against most of her life. She prophetically and poignantly asked: How many others will have to die for this war to end