Armed Forces in charge of security in Rio

In its Tuesday (Feb. 14) issue, Brazil's Federal is to publish the presidential decree authorizing the deployment of the Armed Forces to safeguard law and order in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro from February 14 to 22. The period encomes all days of Carnival, which starts on Friday (17) and ends on Tuesday (21).

The request for the military to be summoned was made yesterday (13) by Rio de Janeiro Governor Luiz Fernando Pezão, who discussed the topic with President Michel Temer during a hearing at the presidential palace.

A similar permission was granted last week to the neighboring state of Espírito Santo, where family of military agents stopped their cars from leaving the police quarters in protest against low pay.

In Rio de Janeiro, the wives and family member of police officers also set up camp and blocked the entry to riot police facilities in downtown Rio.

The demonstrators demand the payment for  overtime work in the second half of 2016, including those of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The state government also owes the police the payment of their Christmas bonus as well as awards for targets met.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira