Through personal stories from people on both sides of the conflict and powerful footage, Favela Frontlines takes you straight to the heart of the battle between police and drug traffickers in Brazil.
On average, one policeman is killed every two days in Brazil. There are 60,000 homicides every year. In this series, stories are interspersed among interviews with judges, journalists, slum residents and historians. They reflect on Brazil’s public safety policy of the past three decades, the impact of social inequality and the legacy of slavery. As sociologist Luiz Eduardo Soares explains, “Police brutality wouldn’t exist without tacit society authorisation.”
For one gang member, it’s very simple: “When I was 10, they slapped me in the face. Now, I carry a rifle. Now, you can’t slap me in the face.”
Episode One: Brazil that Works
Episode Three: In the Name of God
Throughout Brazilian history, countless atrocities have been committed in the name of God.
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Is Brazil a failed state or is it achieving what it was always designed to do?
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Through interviews with both police and militia men, this episode exposes how Brazilian governments have entrenched an approach that increases trafficking while reducing the price of drugs.
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