Crime and
Impunity

Political assassination is an all too common occurrence in Alagoas. Ten percen or more of the murders committed in the state are execution style, with the victims being tied up, hit with several shots and left in a remote location.

Émerson Luís

The recent assassination of Alagoas state assembly member Ceci Cunha and three of her relatives by a hired gun has once again drawn attention to an old problem in that state: political murder without impunity. According to police the murderer was at the service of House Representative Talvane Albuquerque.

It was very symptomatic that a confessed assassin gave a press conference after being heard by the police about the case and then went calmly back home. The gunman is Maurício Novaes, known as Chapéu de Couro (Leather Hat) who accused Talvane of trying to enlist him for the execution.

According to attorney Pedro Montenegro, a member of the Fórum Permanente Contra a Violência em Alagoas (Permanent Forum Against Violence in Alagoas), a non-governmental group , the legislator's assassination is an all too common occurrence in the state.

Montenegro talked about the problem in an interview with Rio's daily Jornal do Brasil: "A little before this assassination there were four other massacres all of them by hired guns. In 65% of the murders committed in the state last year the police haven't even started an investigation. In Alagoas, there are people who look for a gunman as if they were visiting a dentist or a doctor."

Statistics compiled by the Fórum Permanente contra a Violência show that 10% or more of the murders committed in Alagoas are execution style, with the victims being tied up, hit with several shots and left in a remote location.

Alagoas senator Teotônio Vilela Filho, who was a political ally and a personal friend of Ceci Cunha, believes that impunity is the main reason for this continued situation of lawlessness. He has proposed a joint action by federal and state police to prosecute and punish this type of crime.

Political assassination hasn't spared anyone. Alagoas governor Ronaldo Lessa had his brother, police chief Ricardo Lessa, killed while investigating a murder by a gunman who entered the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital to execute a patient. Sílvio Viana, chief inspector of the state Finance Secretariat was also gunned down by hired gunmen.

Last year the Federal Police helped chase an Alagoas military police gang, which was responsible for assassinations and bank and car robbery. As a result, 95 policemen were put in jail. Apparently, crime involving policemen has fallen dramatically. But, until recently, 80% of organized crime involved the military and civilian police.

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