Book, Republic of militias, A: from death squads to the Bol era[LS]

What did police officer Fabrício Queiroz do before becoming known throughout the country as an early ally of the Bolsonaro family? And what about militia leader Adriano da Nóbrega, a professional killer decorated by Flávio Bolsonaro and killed by the police in 2019? And what about former sergeant Ronnie Lessa, identified as the author of the shots that killed councilwoman Marielle Franco and resident of the same condominium as the President of the Republic in Barra da Tijuca? The three were protagonists of a violent form of territorial management that took shape in the last twenty years and is given a full portrait in this book: the militias. They are presented alongside police officers, drug dealers, bicheiros, killers, vigilantes, torturers, deputies, councilors, activists, military personnel, community leaders, journalists and above all victims of a criminal scene that is as revolting as it is complex. The book is built on testimonies from protagonists of this battle. These are interviews that shock with their frankness and wealth of details, in which murders follow one another and the links between police, drug trafficking, gambling and public authorities are revealed unequivocally. In a scenario where the State is absent and needs multiply, violence spreads endemically, but leaves the question open: what is the alternative? The answer is far from simple. Especially in a country with uncontrolled urbanization and a political culture permeated by authoritarianism. From the death squads formed in the 1960s to the dominance of drug trafficking in the 1980s and 1990s, from the basements of the military dictatorship to the slot machine mafias, from the rise of the militia business model to the murder of Marielle Franco, this book sheds light on a face dark shadow of the national experience that took center stage with the election of Jair Bolsonaro to the presidency in 2018. A rare mix of high-voltage reporting with an analytical and historiographical perspective, The republic of militias courageously and pioneeringly exposes a wound deeply rooted in society Brazilian.