(2 Jul 2016) Residents of Mare, a heavily populated and violent favela west of Rio de Janeiro gathered Saturday to call attention to an increase in police violence in their neighborhood even as the city prepares to host the Olympic Games.
Dancing and distributing leaflets the resident organizers of the event complained of the excessive force police are using when battling crime and drug dealers in their midst.
In a recent statement, Amnesty International said at least 11 people were killed in police shootings in Rio's impoverished favelas in April. It said at least 307 people were killed by police last year, accounting for 20 percent of the homicides in the city.
Brazil is suffering the worst recession in decades and Rio's acting governor has declared a state of financial disaster this month, largely to bolster spending on security as the world's spotlight turns to the city.
Some 85,000 police and soldiers — roughly twice the security contingent at the London Olympics — are to be deployed during the Aug. 5-21 games, which are expected to draw an estimated 350,000-500,000 foreigners to a city of 12 million people where armed muggings, stray bullets and turf wars between heavily armed drug gangs are routine.
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