Póllinn - apr. 2024, Side 16

Marielle Franco. A well-known name in Brazil, either worshipped or despised, she made history for
the Brazilian people. As a black, queer, and poor activist, her whole existence went beyond against
the former president’s ideals, but that never stopped her. As a woman, a mother, and a wife, she
stood up for her beliefs and wouldn’t be silenced through fear or intimidation. In 2016, she was
elected state councelor of Rio de Janeiro, where she was from, with 46.502 votes, which made her
the 5th most voted in that year’s elections.
Her victory was extremely meaningful, not only to her and her family, but for the country as a
whole. Having a marginalized woman in a position of power was a chance of intersectional political
representation and a promise of human rights-oriented public policies. Maybe even a real future.
As a child of Maré, Marielle grew up in the slums surrounded by police brutality and injustice. Her
family was composed of strong women, from her grandmother to her younger sister everyone was
a hard worker and an advocate. Academically, the unfairness wasn't any smaller, at 18 she had
classes cancelled due to shootings and at 19 she stopped studying after giving birth to her
daughter. However, a while later she managed to overcome those hardships and was granted a
scholarship at PUC (Rio), where she graduated in social sciences. Even though studying, working,
and parenting at the same time sounds impossible, Marielle was able to do it not only for her
bachelor's but also her master's in Public Administration at UFF.
It's no surprise that her story spreads admiration or that it motivated her to be a social justice-
oriented politician. Her ascension as a public figure was based on her advocacy for the
implementation of public policies that opened doors to discredited communities.
After her election, she had the tools to improve people's lives, she worked towards racial equality,
LGBTQ+ rights, gender equality and tried to diminish socioeconomic disparities. Marielle worked
for the people.
Having someone with that motivation in a position of power means removing privileges from the
higher layer of society to try and balance access to basic rights, and that granted her many
political enemies.
On March 14th, 2018, only a year into her mandate, Marielle was brutally murdered. 13 shots to
her car. 5 hit her head. It was the murder of a daughter, a sister, a mother, a wife, a politician, an
activist, and the voice of the people.
After her assassination, the law failed brutally to find and charge the responsible(s) for this
atrocity, but the people wouldn’t leave it that way. In the following months, thousands joined the
streets in protests that demanded justice, and the truth. She was honoured internationally and
had a street named after her in Argentina (there's one in Brazil too). International organisations
like Amnesty International advocate to this day that justice is done for Marielle, the one at fault
for this needs to be held accountable.
WHO KILLED MARIELLE?
Lux Souto Maior
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