Murder rates in Brazil are falling. In 2019, the number of victims of violent crimes fell 19 percent from 2018, down to 41,634, the lowest number since the Brazilian Public Security Forum began collecting data in 2007. In fact, those numbers have steadily been declining since 2018, after hitting a peak of nearly 64,000 murders in 2017.

While President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters are quick to claim credit, the decline can be largely attributed to the end of violent conflict between rival criminal factions, who have long fought for control of the country’s drug trade; measures taken by the government under former President Michel Temer — which, among other things, has improved the coordination of police forces; and state-level interventions in prisons, such as isolating leaders of criminal groups to make it more difficult to coordinate actions beyond prison walls.

And yet, femicide in the country remains on the rise.

Full article at Women’s Media Center’s website. Date of publication: 20/04/2020