« I can’t come here alone “, warned on Twitter Anielle Franco, new Minister for Racial Equality of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who takes office on January 1. Her action, she will lead it ” in the name of the memory of [sa] sister and of the more than 115 million blacks in Brazil “. The appointment of this journalist, writer and activist for the rights of women and blacks in Lula’s government is highly symbolic.
On March 14, 2018, his sister, Marielle Franco, was shot several times in the head as she left a meeting of activists. Municipal councilor of the city of Rio, she will have paid the highest price for her commitments: for the rights of blacks, women, LGBT people and against the militias, these paramilitary groups composed in particular of former police officers, who impose their law in certain neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro.
Polarization of Brazil
« She denounced a lot the police interventions and in particular the homicides of the militias mainly against black men », explains Armelle Enders, historian of contemporary Brazil at the University of Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis. It was two former military policemen who killed her.
His assassination had highlighted the polarization of Brazil. ” His death had caused a considerable stir. Only Jair Bolsonaro, among the candidates for the presidential election at the time, had not condemned the attack. DSince then, Marielle Franco has becomea symbol of antibolsonarism, of the struggle of LGBT minorities, of the black woman “, continues Armelle Enders.
A “historic repair”
« Anielle Franco’s appointment as Minister for Racial Equality is both historic reparation for her sister’s brutal murder and recognition of her tireless work for black women’s rights says Thiago de Souza Amparo, professor of law at the FGV school in São Paulo and specialist in human rights and discrimination issues.
The new minister until then directed the Marielle Franco Institute, which continues the fights of the big sister, defends her memory and fights for the sponsors of the attack to be condemned. After his death, the bolsonaristes had broken commemorative plaques posted in his name. They multiplied the calumnies “, accusing him of complicity with drug trafficking and even ” to be the wife of a drug dealer “says Armelle Enders.
Under the Bolsonaro presidency, Anielle Franco gradually became “ one of the most listened to equality activists » indicate Thiago de Souza Amparo. « She will bring a transnational, grassroots and feminist approach to racial equality, much needed in a country where black women are still very underrepresented in politics. »