Condemns the masterminds behind the assassination of Marielle Franco
On Wednesday, February 25, Brazil's Supreme Court handed down a unanimous sentence against brothers Domingos and João Francisco "Chiquinho" Brazão, to 76 years in prison, considering it proven that they planned the murder of councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes in March 2018, and for being part of an armed criminal association.
Sociologist, feminist, human rights activist, and advocate for Black women in Brazil, Marielle Franco was shot dead on the night of March 14, 2018, in Rio de Janeiro. She was 38 years old. At the time, she had been denouncing the violence in the favelas and the actions of paramilitary groups.
Eight years later, with memory and activism, justice reached the instigators of the crimes, even though the perpetrators had already been convicted in October 2024.
CLACSO has always championed the figure and legacy of Marielle Franco, whose name graces the main hall of its headquarters in Buenos Aires. Recognizing her life's work and her example, CLACSO has promoted initiatives such as the "International Seminar on Black Feminisms" to connect academia with Afro-descendant social movements; and some time ago, it signed cooperation agreements with Brazil's Ministry of Racial Equality (headed by her sister, Anielle Franco) to promote racial justice in the region.
She also edited the essay “It Was Always About Us: Accounts of Gender-Based Political Violence in Brazil,” in which Brazilian politician Manuela D'Ávila compiles the voices of fifteen women from her country with testimonies about discrimination and gender-based violence in the political sphere. One of the chapters is dedicated to Marielle Franco.
Dialogue with Mónica Benicio, Marielle Franco's colleague, at the CLACSO Executive Secretariat
