Latin America, violence, and capitalism
Marielle Franco, the Brazilian socialist feminist and LGBT activist, was brutally gunned down in Rio de Janeiro in March this year. Franco was a member of the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), a revolutionary split from the Workers’ Party (PT). She was an outspoken critic of police brutality and the Brazilian president’s use of the army to intervene in the favelas of the city. Franco’s death has been attributed to gangs, but many suspect it was an extra-judicial killing by militias closely linked to the state. Some 17 of the world’s 50 most violent cities are in Brazil, while Rio has 10...