WEBVTT - On Patrol With Favela Security 0:00:01.720 --> 0:00:02.840 Causer Media. 0:00:06.760 --> 0:00:10.360 You're listening to the Away Days podcast on the ground 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:17.319 outside reporting from the underbelly with me Jake Hanrahan. To 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:22.040 watch Awaydays documentaries, go to YouTube dot com slash at 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:28.920 away Daze TV. This is part two for Velow Government, 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:35.440 Episode three. This podcast is a production of H eleven 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:46.640 Studio and call Zone Media. After talking to Player, I 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:50.720 understand the CV outlook a little better. Unlike some of 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:53.240 the other gangs, they at least want to be seen 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:57.000 to be helping the people. But whilst it's true that 0:00:57.080 --> 0:01:00.640 CV generally didn't tax people back in the day, it's 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:04.240 not like it used to be. There are now reports 0:01:04.280 --> 0:01:07.480 of the gang charge in Favela residents for everything from 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:12.480 parking spaces to internet access, just like a conventional government. 0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:16.440 In fact, CV has the resources of the Favela lockdown 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:20.000 so well that in some cases they've literally made their 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:26.319 own internet service providers. In this article from twenty twenty two, 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:30.959 journalist Graham Slattery details how armed gangs even chased out 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:33.560 repair men who've been sent to a terminal to fix 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:38.200 what showed as a disruption in service that it definitely 0:01:38.400 --> 0:01:44.600 was quote as real. Dejenira residents sheltered at home last year, 0:01:44.680 --> 0:01:49.440 during the deadliest phase of Brazil's COVID nineteen outbreak, Police 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:53.240 detective Gabriel Ferrando said he got a tip that something 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:58.720 suspicious was upending local internet service. Access had vanished across 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:02.600 broad swaths of Moral for Meiga or the Anhill, a 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:07.080 tough neighborhood on the city's north side. When Ferrando quized 0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:10.840 the technician from a broadband provider tasked with fixing the outage, 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:14.840 the worker, who he declined to name, said armed men 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:17.280 had chased him away with a warning not to return. 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:21.080 Turns out a new internet provider had claimed this turf, 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:25.720 a company whose investors at one time included an accused 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:29.919 drug and arms trafficker with ties to Brazil's notorious Red 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:34.679 Command crime syndicate. Using stolen property, some of it pilford 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:38.480 from the internet provider tim The newcomers soon had their 0:02:38.480 --> 0:02:42.280 own internet service up and running. Residents could sign up 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:47.280 with the new firm or do without end quote until 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:51.520 wasn't the only place affected either. The journalist interviewed almost 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:56.519 two dozen telecoms executives, law enforcement officials, and Internet users 0:02:56.520 --> 0:03:00.880 in Brazil. They also reviewed thousands of pages court documents 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:05.480 submitted by the police. What they found was quote an 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:09.359 audacious takeover of internet service in dozens of neighborhoods in 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:14.800 Brazil's major cities by companies associated with alleged criminals, unafraid 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:19.280 to use force and intimidation to push out rivals. The 0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:22.600 result is that tens of thousands of Brazilians now depend 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:27.880 on unreliable second rate broadband networks, estimated by industry and 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:32.320 law enforcement officials to be generating millions of dollars annually 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:37.760 for purported crooks. End quote. So all the webbing of 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:40.880 telegraph wires above our heads in the favela is part 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:45.400 of CV's telecoms empire. The many different sized antennas and 0:03:45.440 --> 0:03:48.480 satellite dishes I've seen jerry rigged onto the top of 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:52.600 roofs and the sides of Foravella housing provides residents internet 0:03:52.640 --> 0:03:57.840 and television. Let's call it CV and T. It's the 0:03:57.840 --> 0:04:01.360 most popular provider in the whole of the favela. Because 0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:04.839 CV and T is the only provider in the whole 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:08.000 of the favela. If you want to serve the Web, 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:11.880 you'll be doing it with gang made internet technology, real 0:04:11.960 --> 0:04:15.560 Favela innovation. In this case, it's a way to make 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:19.239 more money from the citizens of the favela. You could argue, 0:04:19.560 --> 0:04:22.919 so what why should the local gang not make some 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:27.000 extra money from an internet provider. Well, I think the 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:30.840 issue is that the residents have no other choice. You 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:35.919 CV and T or don't have internet. Tadly a free 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:39.600 market if the other competitors are chased away with literal 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:48.080 machine guns. In plot Foggatto, we seem to have gained 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:51.320 some kind of trust. The gang members are surprised we 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:54.720 keep coming back each day, and are definitely more comfortable 0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:57.359 with us around than they were at the start. A 0:04:57.400 --> 0:04:59.479 few have even waived or nodded at us as we 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:03.840 moved past them at various checkpoints. We move further up 0:05:03.839 --> 0:05:08.240 the hills into the shakier heights of the favelas. See 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:11.080 As you move higher into the hills of a Brazilian favela, 0:05:11.560 --> 0:05:17.800 the physical, social, and infrastructural landscape changes dramatically. Favelas are 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:21.320 often built on steep land that the formal city avoids. 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:25.520 The glass and metal sky rises of the city are 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:30.680 certainly not built on hillsides, ravines, and floodplains. The lower 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:33.840 levels of the favela tend to be more accessible and 0:05:34.040 --> 0:05:37.520 as a result have better access to what limited public 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:43.640 infrastructure there is. Over time, these services might extend upwards, 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:48.520 but not always. Housing near the base of the favela 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:53.200 is usually denser and more established, built from brick, concrete, or, 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:57.599 as we've seen, brittle breeze blocks. These homes are often 0:05:57.680 --> 0:06:01.360 two or more stories, sometimes with small shops or makeshift 0:06:01.360 --> 0:06:05.640 businesses on the ground level. As I travel further up 0:06:05.680 --> 0:06:08.880 into the favela, it's clear that construction becomes a lot 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:13.240 more improvised. Buildings on the upper slopes are usually smaller, 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:17.080 built from cheaper materials like wood or sheet metal, and 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:21.240 many lack proper foundations. The angles of some of these 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:23.920 dwellings look as if they're filmed on a fish Eyelans. 0:06:24.839 --> 0:06:27.800 Outer walls are sometimes bowing with weight, and there are 0:06:27.960 --> 0:06:31.160 huge water butts hanging off the edges of many homes here, 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:35.760 probably their only chance to get decent water. The jungle 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:39.320 landscape becomes more dense also, and so the area is 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:45.159 susceptible to landslides, particularly during rainy season. These upper zones 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:49.120 are at greater environmental risk and often house the poorest families. 0:06:49.960 --> 0:06:51.919 One of the main issues here believe it or not 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:55.600 is global warming. Amongst all of the guns and the 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:59.080 drugs and the violence, even pollution is getting the people here. 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:04.680 The community reporting platform rio on watch has covered this 0:07:04.760 --> 0:07:10.960 problem extensively. In an article by Karla Regina, she wrote, quote, 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:15.560 these phenomena leave some displaced and homeless, forced to live 0:07:15.560 --> 0:07:19.880 in public shelters or with relatives. Local governments in Brazil 0:07:19.960 --> 0:07:22.920 generally register them for social rent if they are unable 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:27.400 to access public housing programs such as Minhat Casamina Vida, 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:31.520 but not everyone affected is covered by these programs, and 0:07:31.600 --> 0:07:34.440 even when they are, many report the payments received are 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:38.320 lower than the rents charged in the favelas. Thus, many 0:07:38.360 --> 0:07:41.720 favela residents choose to return to their former addresses to 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:47.160 rebuild their homes. Others join the homeless movement, occupying vacant 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:50.440 lots or abandoned public and private buildings that are not 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:54.560 fulfilling the social function of property as outlined in the 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:59.800 Brazilian Constitution. The complete absence of public services in higher 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:03.720 perwer of the favelas is alarming. Ravines are giving way, 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:08.000 gradually eroding with each bolt of rain. With a few 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:11.080 more storms, which are common in Rio, it's likely these 0:08:11.080 --> 0:08:15.160 will collapse, wiping away everything and everyone in their way. 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:19.800 Tall trees grow on unstable soil and without proper care 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:23.040 from the authorities. There are also a cause of concern 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:27.360 amongst residents the close to falling onto their houses. It's 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:30.960 a tragedy waiting to happen. One of the Favella houses 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:34.400 I visited in twenty nineteen used to be occupied by 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:37.560 a woman and her pregnant daughter. Back then, it was 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:42.200 already in precarious conditions and did not have electricity. The 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:45.240 woman and her daughter cooked outside in their backyard on 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:48.800 a makeshift brick stove using charcoal and a refrigerator grill. 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:52.640 When I spoke to the pregnant daughter in twenty nineteen, 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:55.559 she said she felt no danger living there. She was 0:08:55.600 --> 0:08:58.760 already used to it, and while almost everything got wet 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:01.920 when it rained, she could sleep wherever the rain hadn't fallen. 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:06.320 Today the house is even more run down end quote. 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:11.559 In the time we've been here in the Favella, it 0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:16.800 rained heavily several times. Each roof drips water constantly, and 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:20.120 the stream of the brill and uncollected rubbish pushes filth 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:23.400 and probably diseased down Some parts of the open hills. 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:27.040 One of the few benefits of living higher up in 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:30.120 the Favella's dough are the views, if you can call 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:33.760 that a benefit in such poverty. We turn a corner 0:09:33.800 --> 0:09:37.160 after five minutes, stomping up an almost vertical hill, and 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:39.920 agreeted with the natural beauty of the jungle in front 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:44.320 of us, lush leaves, thick branches, and green for miles 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:48.120 just around the corner. Though on the other side of 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:51.680 this strip, the view is the opposite. You can see 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:54.320 all the main roads into the Flavella from here, and 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:59.200 the normality of the city out in the distance. Suddenly 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:02.120 I hear the crackle of a radio. Behind us, there's 0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:04.240 a young lad, dressed and a black t shirt with 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:06.840 a black cat and blue denim shorts, sat with a 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:10.520 few guns at a higher vantage point. He's a lookout, 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:13.760 watching here all day and informing his higher ups of 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:18.240 any suspicious activity. His plastic chair is placed within a 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:20.520 few feet of the front door of a makeshift house. 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:23.720 It's decorated out front with a mix of different brightly 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:27.080 colored flowers. There's even a little tor toys moving slowly 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:30.320 through the garden. A marvel at the tortoise as the 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:33.120 lookout moves around, putting his pistol into the band of 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:36.440 his trousers and nodding at us vaguely. He doesn't want 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:39.240 to talk, as he's busy working, beats friendly, and he 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:42.040 seems chilled out with us around. I reckon he's about 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:46.280 sixteen years old. In this area, despite the young gunman 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:49.160 keeping watch of everything, there is a lot less going 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:53.200 on and it does feel more peaceful socially. There's also 0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:57.520 a subtle status hierarchy in some favelas, depending on how 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:00.360 high up you are. While in most city ties the 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:04.360 higher ground means wealth, in favelas the opposite is often true. 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:08.160 As I've said, residents at the bottom tend to have 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:13.880 better economic opportunities given their proximity to transport, employment, and services. 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:17.280 Those living at the top are usually more isolated and 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:21.640 have to navigate these long, steep hills. It's not uncommon 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:24.400 for people to have to carry water, fuel, or even 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:29.480 construction materials by hand up the hillside. Community investment and 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:34.000 urban upgrading projects typically begin in lower or mid level zones, 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:37.640 where access is easier and the property is more stable. 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:40.600 Higher up areas tend to be last in line for 0:11:40.679 --> 0:11:46.760 improvements like lighting, pavements and public spaces. Ultimately, the higher 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:49.560 you go in a favela, the more precarious life can 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:55.760 be structurally, environmentally, and economically. I want to go even 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:58.880 further up to see what life is like there. Carlos 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:02.880 isn't sure. He makes a few calls. After a few minutes, 0:12:02.920 --> 0:12:07.480 he gets a message. Basically, we have permission, but at 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:10.640 our own risk. The motorbike taxis will come to take 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:12.880 us further, but one of the gang members has to 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:16.120 radio each checkpoint first to let the gang members know 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:19.560 not to shoot us as we go past. It's taking 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:21.960 him a while to radio each checkpoint on the route 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:24.920 we're headed up. I'm happy about that, as he seems 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:28.920 to be doing a thorough job. I absolutely do not 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:47.240 want to get shot today or tomorrow or ever. Eventually 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:49.760 the bikes turn up. I catch a ride up to 0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:59.959 the higher parts of Palat Fogato. After a few minutes 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:03.800 I arrived first. Not ideal. They've got to go back 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:08.680 down to get Carlos. They're pulled up to a wreck 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:12.000 area with a load of concrete benches, a children's playground, 0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:16.160 and a mesh fence football court. There's around a dozen 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:19.480 well armed gang members set around the benches, both young 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:22.880 and older. As a unit, they're better around than the 0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:26.760 shooters we saw further down. These lads have a variety 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:29.840 of different long barreled guns and side arms. At their hips. 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:35.800 They have AK pattern rifles, AR fifteen platform rifles, fil 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:40.120 para and G three A three. With all these guns 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:43.520 around just meters away in the courts, kids are playing 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:48.959 football and little children are watching. Gang members all look 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:52.640 at each other and certainly then at me and starting 0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:55.880 to worry they didn't get the message don't shoot the gringo. 0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:59.600 I put on my friendliest smile wave and I say 0:13:59.679 --> 0:14:02.600 hi the kind of nod. Then look to an older 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:05.160 guy wearing all red with long hair down his back. 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:07.920 He's also the first person we've seen in the Favela 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:12.240 with a beard. He has a Saga twelve semi auto 0:14:12.360 --> 0:14:15.840 shotgun slung over his shoulder and a whole belt of 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:20.440 red shotgun shells fastened around his waist. He's like Favella Rambo. 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:25.440 He nods to me and smiles white. Everyone relaxes a bit, 0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:27.400 and Carlos arrives on the back of the bike. 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:28.160 Thanks. 0:14:28.240 --> 0:14:32.640 Fuck, It's all good. Despite us being higher up, where 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:37.120 as I've mentioned Favella's usually become more impoverished. This is 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:41.360 actually a really nice neighborhood. The houses a makeshift and 0:14:41.400 --> 0:14:44.520 piled up still sure on this street, at least, they're 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:48.920 all painted bright colors, green, pink, yellow. There were large 0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:52.120 bushes with blooming, multi colored flowers growing out of the 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:55.000 tops of the flat roofs. A start to wonder if 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:59.320 maybe a CV boss lives in this area. The guy 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:02.280 with the combat shotgun who will call Red, and a 0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:04.960 younger member of the local gang are about to head 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:07.600 off on a patrol of the area. They ask if 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:10.360 we can join them, and they shrug okay, and they 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:14.400 lead the way. The patrol is a pretty informal affair. 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:18.720 Two gang bangers wander around the area with their guns drawn, 0:15:19.240 --> 0:15:21.160 but not like they're about to storm the front line. 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:25.640 It's more just in case. The purpose of these patrols 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:28.920 is to inspect the various CV checkpoints, to make sure 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:31.560 the gang members are all doing their job that and 0:15:31.600 --> 0:15:34.320 to make sure there's no trouble in the neighborhood. It 0:15:34.360 --> 0:15:37.720 occurs to me that in a strange way, this is 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:40.120 sort of what police back home do in the UK, 0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:43.400 or at least what they used to do a bobby 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:46.080 on the beat. We call it as in police officers 0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:49.040 who are assigned to a local area to walk about, 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:53.240 make sure things are okay, familiarize the people with the police. 0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:57.760 Now though generally police in the UK chase after insignificant 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:01.920 nonsense and largely shy away from serious crime. I can't 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:04.440 even remember the last time I saw a police officer 0:16:04.480 --> 0:16:07.600 get out of their car for anything other than an arrest, 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:10.320 but the concept still sits in my head. As we 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:13.920 walk around the upper levels of this Foravila neighborhood, CV 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:16.920 has really taken on the role of the authorities in 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:19.560 more ways than one, whether they realize it or not. 0:16:20.560 --> 0:16:23.600 As we head down some uneven concrete steps out of 0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:27.240 the more colorful neighborhoods, it becomes clear that actually this 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:31.200 area is more impoverished than the lower levels. The stench 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:34.320 of shits and sewages in the air. A few people 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:37.640 around look addicted to drugs. We move through a checkpoint 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:41.280 and the CV members on it look very high. They 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:44.040 giggle and laugh and say hello to us. It's not 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:47.560 ideal when they're all armed to the teeth. Red's nods 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:50.360 at them, says a few words checks the radio, and 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:52.360 we move off down a long set of stairs in 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:56.000 a narrow side street halfway. I want to know what 0:16:56.040 --> 0:17:00.440 would happen if we encounter the police right now, if 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:09.520 the police come through here, what happens? Well, if the 0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:13.240 lads there just said, without hesitation, we shoot a police 0:17:13.280 --> 0:17:16.480 straight away, we can't let them into the favela. We 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:19.840 can't let them up here. This is not wann to 0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:23.240 be tough guys shit either. These lads are totally serious. 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:26.760 They've probably already done it, almost without a doubt. It's 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:31.080 a matter of fact. It happens here regularly. The cops 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:34.600 kill them, they kill cops, the cops kill them, they 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:38.680 kill cops. It goes on and on. Like players said, 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:40.960 this is a war that will probably last till the 0:17:41.040 --> 0:17:44.600 end of time. Just as we're about to keep moving, 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:48.159 an elderly man, maybe in its seventies, walks down the 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:52.920 steps behind us with two huge bags of rubbish. He's 0:17:52.960 --> 0:17:55.000 trying to clean up the area or dump out his 0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:58.040 own home waist. I don't know. The two gang members 0:17:58.040 --> 0:18:01.879 part to let him through. The younger, I notice, immediately 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:04.640 puts his back to the wall and looks straight down 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:06.720 at the floor it's like a young kid put in 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:09.840 a dunce corner. I could be wrong by a sense 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:12.760 he feels some kind of shame. He's wearing a mask 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:14.560 over his head, so it's not that he wants to 0:18:14.600 --> 0:18:17.520 hide his face, and yet still he hangs his head 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:21.000 so his chin is almost touching his chest. The old 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:23.400 fellow strides through the middle of us and doesn't look 0:18:23.480 --> 0:18:26.600 up at the gang members or me for a single second. 0:18:27.440 --> 0:18:31.360 He doesn't acknowledge any of us whatsoever. In my opinion, 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:35.520 his body language like this suggests he is absolutely not 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:39.480 a fan of these guys. It's a brief moment, but 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:42.960 I see it almost as a silent protest. Maybe I'm 0:18:43.000 --> 0:18:47.080 looking into it too much. I don't know. These two 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:51.800 gunmen are basically the security of his neighborhood, impoverished young 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:56.080 men with guns who are untrained and unscrupulous. In every 0:18:56.119 --> 0:18:59.560 neighborhood there's a batch of these CV foot soldiers armed 0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:03.600 with black market guns. They're ready to fight at any time. 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:07.520 In fact, last year there were over two thousand, five 0:19:07.640 --> 0:19:12.200 hundred shootings in this area of Real, Over one third 0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:15.800 of them were during police operations. Hundreds of civilians have 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:18.320 been caught in the crossfire, and many don't even go 0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:21.840 to the hospital for fears they'll be accused of gang activity. 0:19:22.560 --> 0:19:26.040 Needless to say, the actual statistics are probably a lot higher. 0:19:27.440 --> 0:19:30.480 Believe it or not, the life expectancy in a favela 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:34.520 like this is just forty eight years old. If you're 0:19:34.560 --> 0:19:37.720 not killed in a gang shootout or by deprivation or 0:19:37.760 --> 0:19:41.200 assassinated for something, you might just get shot to death 0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:46.560 by the police. It is not at all uncommon. As 0:19:46.600 --> 0:19:50.000 I've mentioned several times in this series, police brutality in 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:53.959 Brazil is a long standing issue, but in recent years 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:58.000 it's become even more severe, especially in the favelas and 0:19:58.040 --> 0:20:02.679 poorer urban areas. Brazil has one of the highest rates 0:20:02.720 --> 0:20:05.280 of police killings in the world. A lot of the 0:20:05.359 --> 0:20:08.200 violence is tied to the so called war on drugs, 0:20:08.560 --> 0:20:11.760 which is given the police a kind of unofficial license 0:20:11.840 --> 0:20:15.400 to go in hard and ask questions later, if at all. 0:20:16.920 --> 0:20:20.640 Here in Rio and in sal Paolo, operations often involve 0:20:20.760 --> 0:20:25.720 armored vehicles rolling into densely populated areas where shootouts erupt 0:20:25.800 --> 0:20:30.359 in broad daylight. Civilians frequently get caught in the crossfire, 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:35.240 and accountability for that is almost non existent. What I 0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:37.960 find most shocking is the number of kids being killed. 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:42.040 Twenty twenty three, for example, police in Rio killed hundreds 0:20:42.080 --> 0:20:46.840 of people during operations, many of them just teenagers. These 0:20:46.880 --> 0:20:51.560 deaths are often justified as the result of confrontations with gangbangers, 0:20:52.160 --> 0:20:56.560 but investigations are very rare, So who even knows. Would 0:20:56.640 --> 0:20:58.560 you trust the word of a police force that is 0:20:58.680 --> 0:21:01.800 known to form a legal militias and deal drugs themselves. 0:21:02.359 --> 0:21:07.960 I wouldn't. Even if cases do get investigated, they rarely 0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:13.640 lead to prosecution. Video evidence and witness testimony is routinely ignored, 0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:17.000 and the cops involved in such killings are usually back 0:21:17.000 --> 0:21:22.360 out on the streets in just days. People living here 0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:25.520 in the favelas often describe feeling under sieged by the 0:21:25.560 --> 0:21:31.199 police rather than protected. It's no wonder It's not just 0:21:31.320 --> 0:21:35.280 a few bad apple cops either. All the evidence suggests 0:21:35.320 --> 0:21:38.479 that this is a deeply embedded problem within the system 0:21:38.520 --> 0:21:42.240 here in Brazil, and many of these units are part 0:21:42.280 --> 0:21:45.560 of the elite forces like BOPE who are spoken about 0:21:45.560 --> 0:21:50.399 in a previous episode. They operate with heavy firepower and 0:21:50.480 --> 0:21:56.440 little oversight. Politicians often praise these aggressive tactics as being 0:21:56.840 --> 0:22:02.200 quote unquote tough on crime, especially during election cycles. We 0:22:02.320 --> 0:22:08.119 are surprise the sickly former president Bolsonaro put this mentality 0:22:08.200 --> 0:22:11.800 on steroids when he openly encouraged police to kill suspected 0:22:11.880 --> 0:22:17.080 criminals and promised legal protection for those who did. Obviously, 0:22:17.320 --> 0:22:20.520 that emboldened any local forces that were out for blood. 0:22:21.880 --> 0:22:24.200 Due to the nature of the combat in the favelas, 0:22:24.600 --> 0:22:27.560 there were no end of cops looking to take scalps. 0:22:28.760 --> 0:22:31.960 Community activists and human rights groups have been pushing back, 0:22:32.280 --> 0:22:35.719 but they face serious risks too. Some have been targeted 0:22:36.119 --> 0:22:40.280 or even killed for speaking out. In the end, it's 0:22:40.320 --> 0:22:43.399 the people living in the favelas who pay the ultimate price. 0:22:44.720 --> 0:22:47.560 The cycle of violence keeps turning, and the gap between 0:22:47.600 --> 0:22:52.200 the state and its citizens keeps growing. Nothing gets resolved. 0:23:05.280 --> 0:23:08.200 The next day I arrived early in the favela and 0:23:08.280 --> 0:23:10.679 it turns out we've been invited into the home of 0:23:10.720 --> 0:23:13.879 a local who lives under CV rule but is a 0:23:13.880 --> 0:23:17.800 civilian by choice. He has no intentions to join the 0:23:17.880 --> 0:23:20.760 gang and hopes to make it as a successful rapper. 0:23:21.200 --> 0:23:23.879 He goes by the name Flows, and he is completely 0:23:23.960 --> 0:23:27.920 uninvolved in gang activity. Let me be clear, he wants 0:23:27.960 --> 0:23:30.320 to keep it that way. This lab wasn't brought to 0:23:30.400 --> 0:23:33.360 us by CV either. This is not some fake press tour. 0:23:33.520 --> 0:23:35.600 It's a friend of a very trusted friend of mine 0:23:35.640 --> 0:23:38.840 that put us in touch. For me, this is a 0:23:38.840 --> 0:23:42.080 perfect opportunity to speak to a civilian in his own home. 0:23:42.320 --> 0:23:46.720 Here in the favela. We head up an extremely steep 0:23:46.760 --> 0:23:48.959 hill to meet floats. You almost have to put your 0:23:48.960 --> 0:23:51.800 hands out as you walk up it. As soon as 0:23:51.800 --> 0:23:54.880 we arrive, Flows is out. He's ready. A spot him 0:23:54.880 --> 0:23:57.040 at the back door of an alleyway that leads to 0:23:57.080 --> 0:23:59.080 his small favela rented dwelling. 0:24:00.520 --> 0:24:01.679 The sweir Ai. 0:24:01.800 --> 0:24:05.840 You we're going this way. I instantly like his vibe. 0:24:06.320 --> 0:24:09.479 He's clearly full of energy and he embraces me warmly, 0:24:09.520 --> 0:24:13.040 like we're old friends. He's in his early twenties, skinny 0:24:13.080 --> 0:24:15.960 with a little goatey beard, a baggy T shirt and 0:24:16.000 --> 0:24:18.480 a flat peak cap with Jay Diller embroidered into the 0:24:18.560 --> 0:24:22.480 front of it. Jay Diller being the highly influential American 0:24:22.560 --> 0:24:25.919 hip hop producer and rapper known for his work with 0:24:26.119 --> 0:24:31.600 artists like a tribe called Quest and Common. A follow 0:24:31.640 --> 0:24:36.800 flows into his house. It's small, airy, and honestly pretty cozy. 0:24:37.440 --> 0:24:40.160 The walls are all bare concrete as are the floors, 0:24:40.520 --> 0:24:43.600 but Flows has made it his own. There are world 0:24:43.640 --> 0:24:46.200 maps on the walls, an old worn out punch bag 0:24:46.280 --> 0:24:49.000 hanging from the ceiling, and a desk with a laptop 0:24:49.080 --> 0:24:52.800 and various different music equipments spilling over it. Seeing as 0:24:52.840 --> 0:24:55.400 me and my team are from the UK, Flows tells 0:24:55.440 --> 0:24:57.480 us he has a drill beat ready and wants to 0:24:57.520 --> 0:25:02.000 show us his rapping ability. Now, if you don't speak Portuguese, 0:25:02.040 --> 0:25:04.600 his verses what makes sense to you? But I'm gonna 0:25:04.680 --> 0:25:07.000 let it play in full anyway, as I don't think 0:25:07.040 --> 0:25:10.560 it matters if you don't understand Flows is a hidden 0:25:10.600 --> 0:25:12.520 for talent. Trust me on this. 0:25:15.080 --> 0:25:27.840 By the movie transiender save such result. 0:25:29.480 --> 0:25:30.160 So NOI. 0:25:36.560 --> 0:25:44.520 D c in pretty good but sabi if Finnish persona 0:25:44.560 --> 0:25:51.360 TV forma bid a familiar for find my spook kadi videos, 0:25:51.400 --> 0:25:57.159 I said, say d v V Christ and all that 0:25:57.280 --> 0:26:00.879 ten dollars ron bb. So I'm see in drug a 0:26:00.960 --> 0:26:05.399 quasarity taking a pointing ida them to do a bit. 0:26:06.840 --> 0:26:07.040 And some. 0:26:08.920 --> 0:26:18.240 Present brotig chill knack and child nu paid might say 0:26:18.280 --> 0:26:21.720 grid no pre seas I say by six Swish paid 0:26:21.760 --> 0:26:25.680 to balakom. They just said invitas. I say paid lad 0:26:25.840 --> 0:26:29.640 hev Stad will be need come to chill, chill pay 0:26:30.560 --> 0:26:32.400 and I might say grid no pre seas I say 0:26:32.480 --> 0:26:36.800 by six sush paid to Balakom. He just said ina, 0:26:36.960 --> 0:26:40.120