VZCZCXRO3253
PP RUEHRG
DE RUEHSO #0573/01 1421843
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221843Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5121
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 6252
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 2945
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 7132
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 2588
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 2261
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 1998
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 2816
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 1725
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUMIAAA/USCINCSO MIAMI FL
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEABND/DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMIN HQ WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SAO PAULO 000573 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR DS/IP/WHA, DS/ICI/PII, DS/DSS/OSAC, WHA/BSC 
NSC FOR CRONIN 
DEA FOR OEL/DESANTIS AND NIRL/LEHRER 
DEPT ALSO FOR WHA/PDA, DRL/PHD, INL, DS/IP/WHA, DS/DSS/ITA 
BRASILIA FOR RSO AND LEGAT; RIO DE JANEIRO FOR RSO SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD SENSITIVE SIPDIS 

E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCRM CASC SOCI SNAR ASEC BR

SUBJECT: DUST SETTLES IN SAO PAULO AFTER VIOLENT CRIME WAVE 

REF: (A) Sao Paulo 551; 
(B) Sao Paulo 532; 
(C) Sao Paulo 526 

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 

¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Criminal activities associated with last week's violent crime wave orchestrated by the organized criminal gang the First Capital Command (PCC) have all but ceased in and around Sao Paulo. A few random incidents that appear related were reported over the weekend, but in general, Sao Paulo crime has returned to "normal" levels and nature. President Lula praised the Governor of Sao Paulo for his handling of the crisis, while the Governor admitted that some innocent bystanders may have been killed by police during the street conflicts. Various government agencies and human rights groups seek the identification records of those killed as suspects, but the Governor insists that a list of dead will not be made public to protect the privacy of grieving families. Prison officials are striving to maintain control of their facilities. Meanwhile, the questions of what caused the outbreak of violence and what needs to be done to prevent its recurrence moved to the forefront of the political debate. END SUMMARY. 

--------------------------------------------- - SAO PAULO ENJOYING THE RETURN TO ROUTINE CRIME --------------------------------------------- - 

¶2. (U) A week after a brutal wave of violence orchestrated by the organized criminal gang the First Capital Command (PCC) wracked Sao Paulo city and state and resulted in over 150 deaths (see reftels), police reported only two new PCC-led attacks on police stations over the weekend, both near the city of Ribeirao Preto in the northwestern part of the state. A prison riot in the interior was also quelled without injuries; meanwhile, a prison guard injured in the riots last week died in the hospital. A smattering of other somewhat "sensational" crimes were reported over the weekend, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between "routine" criminal acts and acts associated with what has become known as the "Wave of Violence" that nearly crippled the city for a day last week and left residents on edge every evening. 

------------------------------------------ IDENTIFYING THE INNOCENTS AND THE BAD GUYS ------------------------------------------ 

¶3. (U) As of Monday, May 22, the number of attacks orchestrated by the PCC in retaliation for the transfer of 765 of its leaders to isolated and more secure prison facilities (see reftels) is reported at 299. The number of deaths associated with street confrontations reached 154, with an additional nine inmates killed in prison riots. Of the dead, 41 were police officers, and only four have been identified by state officials as innocent bystanders. The State Secretary for Public Security reports that 109 suspects were killed SIPDIS in street confrontations with police, and approximately 125 arrested; 149 weapons were confiscated. 

¶4. (U) Somewhat surprisingly, President Lula, during his first visit to Sao Paulo since the disturbances, praised Governor Claudio Lembo over the weekend for his handling of the crime wave. Lembo, meanwhile, admitted, in the face of denials by the commander of the state Military Police, that it is possible that innocent bystanders were killed by police during confrontations last week. Several governmental bodies and human rights groups are investigating, and are seeking to obtain the identification records of the dead from the Sao Paulo Coroner's office (Institute for Legal Medicine - IML). The Brazilian Bar Association wants the list as well, but Governor Lembo said the state will not release the names publicly for privacy reasons. (NOTE: The names of police officers killed in action were released last week. END NOTE.) 

¶5. (U) Of the 109 suspects killed in the state, the IML has identified 73 bodies. The IML is working to identify 11 more, and last week it buried one without identification as a pauper because under law, identification must be made within 72 hours of death. 

SAO PAULO 00000573 002 OF 003 

Another twenty-two bodies were processed by IMLs in other parts of Sao Paulo state, and two were determined to be beyond recognition. According to officials, the Sao Paulo Central morgue was not over-burdened during the crisis; the IML has 24 refrigerated body drawers, and six remained empty over the weekend, noted one official. 

------------------------------------ 
DON'T CALL US, AND WE CAN'T CALL YOU ------------------------------------ 

¶6. (U) Meanwhile, at least one community will likely appeal the judicial order that cellular traffic be blocked near a prison within its municipality (Ref A) because of the impact on local residents, and telecommunications authorities report that they have not been able to block all signals into the six prisons covered by the order. Industry experts estimate that the cost of blocking cellular signals to all 144 penal facilities in the state - an effort the industry would likely resist if the government were to try to force companies to provide this service - would be more than 100 million reals (roughly USD 50 million). 

¶7. (U) Prison officials also suspended visitation rights for the weekend at prisons that were the sites of riots during last week's melee across the state. Riots broke out in 71 of 144 facilities, with hostages in each, mostly family members (ref C). 

----------------------------------------- SOCIAL ILLS BECOME THE NEW FOCUS ON CRIME ----------------------------------------- 

¶8. (SBU) As government officials make the transition from operational police action to post-operational fact-finding in the wake of the PCC's crime spree, more attention is being paid to the roots of crime in Sao Paulo and Brazil as a whole, and the social ills that may spawn it. President Lula, standing in solidarity next to Sao Paulo Governor Claudio Lembo -- whom the president said did all he could to deal with the attacks -- said on Sunday said that these acts of violence represent a societal problem. The president said the problem of violent crime does not lie with the governor, the presidency or the mayor, but with "Brazilian society" itself. He said, "We are reaping what we sowed in this country, and if we want to resolve this, we need to assume responsibility for the steps we will take." Last week, Governor Lembo blasted what he called the "white elite" for being "perverse" and "cruel" toward the less fortunate in Brazilian society. Commentators also have been looking at a larger societal problem as more days pass without major PCC attacks, with one noting that "policemen died, but we were the targets." There is a growing recognition the gang's newly-flexed muscle places all citizens at risk. 

¶9. (U) A new study released over the weekend shows a majority of Sao Paulo's youth are "at risk" according to such indicators as family income, proximity to homicides, level of education, and rates of adolescent pregnancy. And last week, another study showed that in 2004, 12.5 million Brazilians lived with hunger but received no government aid. In that vein, presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin announced that he would continue President Lula's famous Bolsa Familia cash aid program for the poorest Brazilians, which currently benefits an estimated 8.8 million families and which the Lula administration is seeking to expand further. 

¶10. (SBU) COMMENT: Renewed attention to the root cause of criminality in Brazil may be good and necessary for efforts at crime prevention and social justice, but, as reported in the popular weekly news magazine Veja, fighting today's criminals is an ever-present and expensive reality for Brazilian communities like Sao Paulo. The magazine reported that the state incarcerates on average 652 new prisoners per month, and that at this rate, it should be building a new prison every 30 days in order to house them at acceptable capacity level. This data again illustrates the double-edged sword over which Brazilian society teeters; Brazil 

SAO PAULO 00000573 003 OF 003 

needs to find a way to commit resources simultaneously toward fixing its ailing education system and providing a safety net to the poor, and toward maintaining and improving its criminal justice and prison systems. END COMMENT. 

¶11. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Brasilia. 

WOLFE