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This article is about violence between a gang, PCC, and the police force in Sao Paulo. The article focuses on the most troubling aspect of this violence which is civilian deaths caused by the police. This is not the first time a police force has taken out their rage against a gang on poor civilians. As dangerous as gangs such as the PCC are, the Brazilian government clearly need to better monitor actions on the part of the police

As Brazil prepares to host both the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, gang violence and police murders overshadow the progress the cities Sao Paulo and Rio De Janiero are making. This year, 95 officers have been murdered in the Sao Paulo area alone, mostly by members of the PCC retaliating against the police. The situation in Rio is being somewhat improved in Rio as the police attempt to regain control of the cities many favelas.

Bigger cities are always going to have higher homicide rates. I do wonder if it will die down for the world cup. I imagine the world cup would be captivating enough to a Brazilian city to stop violence for a few weeks.

I don't think the issue is that the world cup is not a big enough event to stop the violence. The homicide rate in Sao Paulo is so high because the police to not have control of much of the city. The extremely poverty stricken areas (favelas) are run by criminal gangs. Corruption and economic disparity keep the gangs in power. In fact, in some areas the police's attempts to "clean up" the city have further angered the gangs which is why police officers are being targeted more than ever. The situation is unfortunately complicated and severe.