Massacre in Vigário Geral: 30 years since the massacre that exposed Rio's police corruption

Massacre in Vigário Geral offers an in-depth journalistic analysis of the reality of impunity, state omission, corruption, and police violence during the thirty years that followed the execution of 21 innocent people.

In August 1993, Brazil witnessed one of the greatest tragedies in its recent history when the community of Vigário Geral was struck by a brutal massacre. The lives of 21 innocent people were taken by police violence in an episode that shocked the country and echoed globally, highlighting the depths of corruption and impunity that permeated security institutions.

Massacre in Vigário Geral offers an in-depth analysis of the events that took place between August 29 and 30, 1993, when the community was shaken by inexplicable violence perpetrated by security forces. Authors Elenilce Bottari, Elba Boechat, and Chico Otavio paint a vivid portrait of the tumultuous days that followed the massacre: authorities, under pressure from society and national and international organizations, filed a flimsy indictment against 33 police officers just 23 days after the massacre, leading to hasty investigations marked by haste and inaction.

Using testimonies, historical documents, criminal proceedings, expert reports, and journalistic investigations, the authors outline the events and explore the roots, antecedents, and consequences of this tragedy thirty years later, an indefensible legacy of unanswered questions and structural impunity, tied to the corrupt underbelly of the Brazilian police force.