Publisher: Bandits play GTA in Pernambuco

We believe there is no cause for surprise among Pernambucans when it comes to the violence that plagues the state. Based on an editorial in the Folha de São Paulo newspaper, we recorded 16 deaths per day in the state. The number was so surprising and it seemed so "unreal" that we chose to remove it from the editorial, due to the possibility of some misunderstanding, by the absence of a more objective check. The damned thing is that, on checking, we find exactly this absurd index: 16 homicides, on average, are registered every day in Pernambuco, according to data released by the Secretariat of Social Defense itself. The calculation is simple. Get your cell phones and calculate 500 dead a month, divided by 30 days. In the first three months of the year, some 1,500 people were reported dead. As the newspaper's editorialist emphasized, Pernambuco had a lost decade in terms of public safety. We moved back to 2006, a little before, therefore, the implementation of the Pact for Life, which removed the State from the sadness of being the third most violent in the country.

Today, in the morning, another surprise. When checking the Twitter microblog, we found the hashtag Tamandaré occupy a prominent place in Trend Topics. The reason, then, once again, is the staggering world of violence in the state. In that coastal municipality of the State, a little more than 100 km from the capital Recife, a gang of heavily armed robbers spread terror in the city, blowing up two banking branches, Banco do Brasil and Bradesco. In the escape, the bandits fled by boat, along the coast, something more cinematographic, as, in fact, are becoming the action of these specialized gangs in the State. The unusual escape provoked the reaction of a noticeably young public, that began to make post with reference to the game GTA, where the robbers, after a robbery, also flee of boat. It is not yet known if these thugs watched and decided to copy the film, but it is curious that this happened in a quiet town on our coast.

To complete the day of violence in the State, in BR 423, another assault against car-strong transport of values. Strongly armed bandits ambushed one of these cars between the cities of São Caetano and Cachoeirinha, exchanged shots with the vigilantes and blew up the armor, which was more like a smashed Coca-Cola bottle. At such times, to discourage new adventurers - imagine if this is more possible - the amount subtracted from the action is never reported. In the case of the recent assault in Paraguay, carried out by a Brazilian gang, for example, the previously announced figure would soon have been "corrected." Our understanding is that it was probably bigger than advertised. It was the largest bank robbery ever made in that country, although it materialized in the deposit of a securities carrier.

As one public security expert warned yesterday, "things" have completely escaped control. It is no longer a localized problem, regional or state, which imposes the need for measures of a more global scope, articulated among the various agents of the repressive apparatus of the State, on an international scale. The rates of violence recorded today in the country are indices of countries conflagrated by civil wars. The occurrences recorded yesterday, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, dispel any doubt on the subject. Of course, "homework" needs to be done - and well done - but without coordinated, well-articulated intelligence action involving these diverse actors at the local and national levels, the effects of decreasing these rates may not Achieved so soon. Organized group completely control the prison system - where the state apparatus is just another hostage - and establish their international connections, with branches already in several countries. There are indications that Brazilian bandits may have received, for example, training with heavy armaments in countries such as Bolivia.