#marcelo arruda

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

So, in "uhhh Brazil are you ok?!" news, a leader of the Workers' Party in the town Foz do Iguaçu was shot to death by a Bolsonaro supporter during his Lula-themed 50th birthday party this Sunday (July 10th).

Jorge José da Rocha Guaranho, the shooter, was not known by Marcelo Arruda, the victim. According to witnesses, Guaranho stopped his car outside the event, cussed at the people in the party while praising far-right current president Bolsonaro, calling him "mito" (a legend), and detracting the left-leaning former president and current candidate Lula, then pulled out a gun, pointed it at the guests still from inside the car, and vowed to come back and "end everyone". Beside him was a woman holding a baby.

According to other people who witnessed the attack, the perpetrator appeared to be under the influence of drugs when he indeed came back, by himself, around 20 minutes later.

Marcelo Arruda's wife, who is a civil police officer, presented her badge and tried to prevent him from entering, but Guaranho advanced against the birthday man and fired the first two shots. Marcelo, who had picked up his own gun after the first interaction with the shooter, retaliated and shot the Bolsonarista at least thrice. They were both taken to hospital, but did not survive their injuries.

“If Marcelo hadn't fought back”, says a witness, “it was possible that a massacre would've happened.”

Guaranho was a federal prison guard and fervent Bolsonaro supporter, with posts in support for the former captain on his social media profiles.

Marcelo had been a municipal guard for 28 years and a member of the Workers' Party, in which he served as treasurer of the municipal directory. In 2020, he ran in local elections as a candidate for deputy mayor nominated by the party. He also held the position of director of the Union of Public Servants of Foz do Iguaçu. He is survived by his wife and four children, including a one-month-old baby.

(x, x)

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[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Pro-Bolsonaro murderer escapes indictment on political crime

The Paraná police department announced on Friday that it will indict penitentiary guard Jorge Guaranho for aggravated murder, after he stormed a Lula-themed party over the weekend and killed a man while yelling pro-Bolsonaro slogans.

The victim was Marcelo Arruda, a municipal guard and treasurer of the Workers’ Party’s Foz do Iguaçu branch. Mr. Arruda confronted Mr. Guaranho and fired back. The gunman is currently hospitalized.

The murder reignited fears of political violence during this year’s elections — especially as the 2022 race is believed to be the most polarized since Brazil’s return to democracy in the 1980s.

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[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil party official shot dead as pre-election political violence escalates

A local official from Brazil's leftist opposition Workers' Party (PT) was shot dead on Saturday by a federal prison guard shouting support for right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, according to state law enforcement and a witness.

Marcelo Arruda, a municipal guard and PT official, was celebrating his birthday party in the southern Brazilian city of Foz de Iguacu, in the state of Parana, when Jorge Jose da Rocha Guaranho entered the event and shot him dead.

According to a statement from Parana's public security office, Arruda and Guaranho "had a disagreement" at the birthday party, which resulted in both men being shot. Arruda died, while Guaranho was in intensive care, the statement said.

Previously, the Workers' Party had said in a statement that Guaranho also died.

Arruda's death augurs badly ahead of an October general election amid intense political polarization Brazil.

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[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Fatal shooting at a party in Brazil highlights soaring political tensions

It should have been a happy occasion as Marcelo Arruda, a member of Brazil's left-wing Worker's Party, celebrated his 50th birthday with a politically-themed party over the weekend.

Instead, deadly gunfire erupted at the gathering in the southern Brazilian city of Foz de Iguaçu, claiming Arruda's life in an apparent clash over politics that has drawn the nation's attention.

The bloodshed underlines escalating tensions in Brazil as this fall's presidential elections approach, when former leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will face off against incumbent rightwing president Jair Bolsonaro.

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[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil's Lula da Silva asks for calm after ally's killing

Under tight security and wearing a bulletproof vest, former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attended a political rally in the capital city of Brasilia

Under tight security and wearing a bulletproof vest, former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attended a political rally in the capital city of Brasilia. After passing through a metal detector, hundreds of Workers' Party backers gathered near the stage, where da Silva called for them to remain peaceful and avoid confrontations with adversaries.

Da Silva's plea this week reflects growing concerns among politicians, authorities and voters about Brazil's presidential campaign and October election. The leftist leads all polls to return to the office he held between 2003-2010, but far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro has suggested he may not accept the results, while urging his allies to arm themselves.

Last week, Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin, the chairman of the country’s electoral court, warned in a Washington, D.C., presentation that incidents worse than the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol could happen in Brazil this year. Last July, CIA Director William Burns told two Bolsonaro ministers that the president should stop attacking the electoral system.

Electoral tensions rose again on Saturday night, when Marcelo Arruda, a da Silva backer and Workers' Party official, was shot dead by a man who, witnesses told the police, had shouted support for Bolsonaro before pulling the trigger. The investigation is ongoing, but the killing reignited fears of political violence on the campaign trail, which officially begins in August.

“We don’t need to fight. Our weapon is our calmness, the love we have inside of us, our thirst of making people’s lives better,” da Silva said at the rally. “We don’t have to react to (Bolsonaro's supporters') provocations. If anyone teases you, tell them to go bite themselves. Go home and take care of your families. That’s the lesson we need to teach.”

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[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Protests held across Brazil to call for peace and justice for Marcelo Arruda

Mobilizations have taken place in cities across Brazil following a claim by Police claim that the murder of Marcelo was not politically motivated

In cities throughout Brazil, protest actions have been organized to demand peace, fair elections and justice for Marcelo Arruda. Arruda, a municipal guard, trade unionist and Petrobras leader was shot dead during his 50th birthday party on July 9, by Jair Bolsonaro supporter Jorge José da Rocha Guaranho, a federal prison guard. Arruda was celebrating his 50th birthday in Foz do Iguaçu with a “Lula 2022” themed party. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Workers’ Party (PT) candidate, will run for president of Brazil against Bolsonaro in October.

In São Paulo, protests began on July 15, with an action at 5pm in front of the Municipal Theater in downtown São Paulo. In Foz do Iguaçu, movements and family members protested on July 17, in the Peace Plaza, in an action broadcast live by Lula’s Workers’ Party.

“The action is mainly in defense of peace in this difficult moment that we are going through, especially in the state of Paraná,” explained Regina Cruz, from the People’s Brazil Front and one of the organizers of the demonstration in Foz do Iguaçu. “We’ve already had an assassination attempt against former president Lula’s caravan, also with bullets, but [in Marcelo’s case], unfortunately, it was fatal,” she says.

In São Paulo, on July 17, protesters gathered in front of the Assis Chateaubriand São Paulo Art Museum (MASP), to call for justice for Marcelo and to stand against the political and electoral violence that has escalated in recent weeks.

During the demonstration, Laércio Ribeiro, president of the Municipal Directory of the Workers’ Party of São Paulo, announced that the Civil Police of Paraná concluded that there was no political motivation in Marcelo’s murder. The perpetrator, Jorge Guaranho, will be indicted for double murder. The conclusion of the police is that there is no evidence to frame the killing as a politically-motivated crime.

“How was there no political motivation?” asked Ribeiro. “There was a hate crime, politically motivated, not only in Marcelo’s death, but also in the death of Indigenous leaders, in the death of young people from Paraisópolis, of Mestre Moa do Katendê. These deaths are political and politically motivated through hate speech,” said the leader of the Workers Party. “Justice based only on that individual who entered Marcelo’s party is not enough. It is necessary to hold everyone accountable. We will win in memory of those who fought and who fight.”

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[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Lula in flak jacket, Brazil on edge as political killing mars campaign

The shooting over the weekend of an official in Brazil's leftist Workers' Party (PT) by a supporter of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro has inflamed fears of more political violence ahead of a heated election in October.

The local party official's death was the most dramatic case this year of a rising tide of political violence in the world's fourth-largest democracy, tracked by the Electoral Investigation Group (GIEL) at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

"The increase in violence has a lot to do with the current political climate," said GIEL coordinator Felipe Borba. "Not because it's polarized, elections have always been polarized ... But because polarization is being fed by a discourse of hatred."

Critics of Bolsonaro say the president has stoked the tense climate with his strident rhetoric, urging supporters to arm themselves to defend their freedom and saying the election's only outcomes for him will be "death or victory."

Bolsonaro, who was nearly stabbed to death during a campaign rally in 2018, has said he has refused any violent supporters and complained he was unfairly blamed for shooting in southern Brazil on Saturday.

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[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil prosecutors say murder of Lula supporter was "clearly" politically motivated

The Paraná state prosecution office requested the indictment of penitentiary officer Jorge Guaranho for aggravated murder. On July 9, he shot dead Marcelo Arruda, a municipal guard, who was throwing a Lula-themed birthday party.

Prosecutors say the crime had a “futile” motivation stemming from political disagreements, which is an aggravator for murder under Brazilian law. However, the indictment request does not characterize the murder as a hate crime or an attempt against the rule of law.

According to prosecutors, it is “clear” that the crime had political motivations, but the Constitution does not allow it to be defined as such.

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