Amidst the limited reporting here of the protests against bus fare rises and then with a wider theme a report on how Brazilian police can act:
A security force operation in northern Rio de Janeiro has left eight people dead, as the country struggles to contain a popular uprising partly fueled by police brutality.
I suspect this fact may explain a lot:
a Special Operations Battallion (BOPE) sergeant was killed
Not seen these figures before, they are rather sobering:
Police in Rio and Sao Paulo, Brazil's two biggest cities, have killed 11,000 people in the last ten years - in 2008 one person was killed for every 23 arrested, compared to the US police average of one death per 37,000 people arrested.
Link:http://www.insightcrime.org/news-bri...favela-protest

If you're thinking of visiting Brazil for the World Cup in 2014, time to rethink?