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Homicide Explosion In South America's Largest City

Sao Paulo, a city alight
Sao Paulo, a city alight
Andre Caramante and Afonso Benites

SAO PAULO - With an average of 14 murders a day over the past 18 months, the southeastern Brazilian state of Sao Paulo has a bona fide violence problem. In the first six months of the year, the number of homicides was 8% higher across the region than the first six months of 2011.

And notably in the city of Sao Paulo, the state capital and the largest city in South America with a population of 11 million, the murder rate rose by 22%. In June alone, 434 people were murdered, the highest total of the past year.

Criminality in general is on the rise. There were 18% more rapes than last year, representing 966 more cases.

Last week, when talking about the murder of Tommaso Lotto, a young Italian man looking for work in Sao Paulo, the state Secretary of Public Security, Antonio Ferreira Pinto, talked about a "rising tide of violence." Meanwhile, the state Governor Geraldo Alckmin assured his constituents that he had no doubt that this crime wave would soon be over.

During the month of June, eight off-duty police officials were slain in what authorities believe is a concerted campaign by the PCC (First Command of the Capital), a criminal organization and prison gang well known in Sao Paulo for drug dealing and other crimes. Five police bases and 15 buses were also burned. In 2006 the PCC was allegedly behind a wave of 299 attacks against police stations, public offices and buses.

The rise in homicide rate also affects 38 towns, which are part of Sao Paulo's metropolitan area. In these towns, there were 55% more people killed in June this year than in June 2011.

Read the article in Portuguese.

Photo: alexandre_vieira

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Geopolitics

How Turkey's Jumbled Opposition Bloc Can Take Erdogan Down

Turkey heads to the polls in May, with a newly formed opposition bloc hoping to dislodge President Tayyip Recep Erdogan. Despite some party infighting, many remain hopeful they can bring an end to Erdogan's 20 years in power. But first, clarity from within a complicated coalition is needed.

Photo of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey

Bekir Ağırdır

-Analysis-

ISTANBUL — Turkey was hit by a political earthquake recently, at the same time that we were mourning the victims of the actual earthquakes. It was a crisis triggered among the main opposition coalition, the so-called “ the table of six,” by the inner dynamics of the nationalist Good Party (IYI) that resulted in a renewed understanding among the rearranged table.

The six-party coalition has been set up to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “one-man rule” and is looking to dislodge him after 20 years in power in the country’s upcoming national elections scheduled on May 14.

I am not a fan of analyses based on a who-said-or-did-what perspective, nor those focusing on the actors themselves either. I won’t attempt to analyze the political actors unless the daily agenda forces me to. They are not my priority: the condition of our society and our political system are what matters to me.

We were all told to follow the tabloid version of the story, articles based on hot gossip and anonymous statements full of conspiracy theories about the disagreements of the table of six, and the question of who would run against Erdoğan.

The truth is that there were three crises in one. The first is what we call the political crisis, which is actually shortcomings in collaboration and taking control of the process. The second is the structural problems of the political parties. And the third is the gap between politics and the vital needs of the society.

From day one, there were shortcomings in the general functioning of the table of the six — in their ability to act together in critical situations and, more importantly, in their ability to take control of the process. There were clues for these in recent times, such as the different stances the opposition parties took for the issue of providing constitutional protection for the headscarf.

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