On March 14, 2018, the news of an attempt on Marielle Franco’s life arrived as a notification in a WhatsApp group. It was a shock, but not unimaginable for a Black, bisexual woman born in the Maré favela in Rio de Janeiro who embodied the struggles of the working class to be persecuted in Brazil.
Franco was on her way home from a roundtable discussion organized by the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), the same party through which she was elected to the Rio de Janeiro City Council in 2016. Franco left the event accompanied by her driver, Anderson Gomes, and a parliamentary aide, Fernanda Chaves.
Shortly after departing, their car was ambushed in the Estácio neighborhood. The assassins, who were in another vehicle, fired multiple shots. Franco was killed, with three bullets to the head and one to the neck. Gomes was also fatally shot. Fernanda Chaves survived the attack. The investigation into the murders revealed that the ammunition used was linked to a batch sold to the Federal Police.
Throughout her career, Marielle Franco had been a vocal advocate for ending police brutality in Rio de Janeiro, a city notorious for its high levels of police violence. Between 2019 and 2023, the city’s police were reported to have killed 21,498 people, making it one of the deadliest cities in the world in terms of police violence. Given the likelihood of underreporting, the actual number of fatalities is even higher. Franco’s death signaled that her advocacy for victims of police violence had made her a target: someone was deeply bothered by her presence as an advocate in the City Council.
Six years later, in October 2024, two former police officers, Ronnie Lessa and Élcio de Queiroz, were convicted for their roles in Franco’s murder. Lessa received a sentence of 78 years and 9 months, while Queiroz was sentenced to 59 years. Despite this conviction, the crucial question of who ordered Franco’s assassination remains unanswered.
As a Black, bisexual woman from the working class, Franco embodied the intersectional struggle beyond the borders of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. Her legacy will not be forgotten, and we will never stop demanding the answer to who ordered her murder.
Marielle Franco, presente!
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