The Wire

Scenes reminiscent of those featured in the movie ‘The City of God’ were played out in two favelas or shanty towns in Brazil over the Easter weekend. Clashes between police and drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro left at least ten people dead and prompted calls for the building of a 3 metre high wall to contain future violence. Human Rights groups have condemned the proposal labelling it as ‘social apartheid’ and saying that what is really needed is investment in poor communities. Police tactics to quell the violence also came under scrutiny highlighting the ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ approach used in poor communities. James Cavallaro is the founder and director of international relations for the Global Justice Centre, a Brazilian human rights organisation. He explained to Paulina Vidal why the plan to build a wall is guaranteed to fail.