Rio de Janeiro is on the brink of a crisis where the line between law enforcement and lethal force may blur: a new legislative proposal suggests monetary incentives for police officers for every suspected individual they kill.
This bill (6027/2025) threatens to transform Brazil’s battle against crime into a deadly contest, akin to a real-life Squid Game where the tally is marked in blood. Instead of encouraging arrests or legal actions, it incentivizes deadly force.
With COP30 scheduled for November in Belém, Brazil is stepping into the global spotlight.
Defenders
However, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the nation’s president, has remained surprisingly silent on this controversial bill, which could significantly influence discussions on human rights and environmental safeguards. His reticence has prompted speculation about whether he aims to distance himself politically ahead of the upcoming climate summit.
The implications of this proposed legislation could be extensive. If enacted more broadly—whether under Lula’s leadership or by a possibly future far-right government—the ramifications could be serious.
Critics argue it would not only pose dangers to those labeled as “suspects” but could also increase risks for environmental activists, Indigenous leaders, and marginalized communities in a nation already fraught with land and resource conflicts.
Selma dos Santos Dealdina Mbaye, a notable quilombola activist, says this situation mirrors the daily plight of those defending Brazil’s environment, highlighting that activists are constantly under threat.
“Every day, we face unimaginable violence. At least 413 environmental and land defenders have been murdered or gone missing in Brazil since 2012. According to Global Witness data, 36 of these victims were of African descent.
Brutal
“We continue to mourn our beloved leader, Mãe Bernadete, who was assassinated in 2023, six years following her son’s murder. We know that before her untimely death, she received numerous death threats aimed at her and her community.
“There’s no question that her role as an environmental advocate made her a target. Additionally, like others in the Afro-descendant community who require collective protection, Mãe was at a heightened risk for violent acts due to her race.”
Providing monetary incentives to police for killing is not merely horrific but undermines public trust and security.
While proponents assert this is a necessary tactic against organized crime, opponents label it a government-endorsed execution process. For many individuals in Rio’s impoverished neighborhoods, navigating both drug cartels and police actions feels like something out of a grim sci-fi thriller.
Picture awakening in a community where your life—or that of your child—might literally become a price tag for someone wearing a badge. The individuals sworn to protect you are now offered financial rewards to transform the streets into a hunting ground.
Césар Muñoz, director of Human Rights Watch, stated: “Providing cash bonuses to police for killings is not only exceptionally cruel but also jeopardizes public safety by incentivizing officers to shoot rather than to arrest suspects.”
Power
The affluent in gated communities won’t bear the brunt of this legislation. Those drafting this bill, safeguarded by bodyguards, entrenched behind lavish walls will not feel its repercussions.
It will be the young person returning home from work, the child enjoying soccer in the streets. Mistakes will be inevitable; under this law, such ‘mistakes’ could translate to monetary rewards.
On January 24, Jeronimo Gomes da Silva, a 44-year-old from Complexo do Alemão, one of Rio’s largest favelas, reported that a grenade was dropped from a drone onto his home.
He described: “They flung a grenade from a drone onto my balcony, wrecking my house. My family and I were nearly killed here.”
Reports have surfaced about Rio de Janeiro’s military police Special Operations Battalion (BOPE) entering a residence in Complexo do Alemão and robbing a family, highlighting the abuse of authority.
Favelas
In an interview with Brasil de Fato, Jacqueline Muniz, an anthropologist and public security expert, cautioned that this bill could yield far-reaching consequences, particularly in blurring the distinction between police work and organized crime.
She elaborated: “The police might start orchestrating criminal activities themselves; they do not just approach crime but rather become collaborators, intertwined within it. If officers eliminate individuals who are knowledgeable about organized crime, they sabotage investigations and the intelligence needed to understand the criminal network.”
“This arrangement ultimately reveals patterns of corruption, exposing alliances with crime, and shows that death does not stem from high-stakes actions, but instead is commodified. The state has militarized its police force and rendered police lives less valuable.”
Brazilian officials claim the policy will boost morale within a fraying police force, while sending a strong message to the cartels and militias that dominate the favelas.
Violence
However, the impact of this policy is stark: human lives, particularly those of young, poor, and Black men, who already disproportionately suffer in police confrontations.
Every year, Brazilian police are responsible for over 6,000 fatalities, many involving young Black men. Black Brazilians are nearly three times more likely to die in engagements with police than their white counterparts.
In 2024, Rio’s military and civil police reported 703 killings, averaging almost two fatalities per day. A staggering 86% were Black. Between January and August of this year, they have claimed 470 lives.
When the state determines that some lives hold less value, and that certain deaths merit cash rewards, it sends a grim message to an entire demographic: you are expendable.
International organizations such as Human Rights Watch have denounced the proposed law, warning it would promote extrajudicial killings, deepen the divide between communities and the state, and perpetuate a cycle of violence that has plagued Brazil for decades.
Targets
Injustice prevails, and the scars are visible. Families mourning sons lost due to police raids rarely witness justice. Courts seldom prosecute officers involved in controversial shootings. Introducing financial rewards only exacerbates the search for justice.
Brazil stands at a pivotal moment. One direction leads to increased violence, eroded trust, and fractured families, while the other calls for courage and commitment—investing in education, generating meaningful opportunities in the favelas, reforming policing systems, and addressing the underlying poverty that breeds crime.
Crime in Rio arises not from insufficient policing, but from deep-rooted inequality.
The simple remedy involves bullets, while the challenging path is to cultivate a society where law enforcement does not require coersion to serve and protect, where children don’t grow up expecting to perish young, where safety is derived from justice rather than fear.
Policies like these dehumanize individuals, reducing them to targets, stripping away their worth until only a statistic remains: another ‘suspect’ removed, another financial reward accrued.
Survival
According to Muniz, discussions on public safety transcend mere policing tactics and strike at the heart of Brazil’s democracy.
True reform is achievable only when armed forces are brought under civilian oversight, and elected governments can implement their authority without opposition.
“If we aim to uphold democracy, we must do so earnestly. The fundamental aspect of democracy is ensuring the legitimacy of elected governments, regardless of their political spectrum, and this necessitates control over armed institutions, which has spiraled out of control in Brazil,” Muniz warned.
The global community must remain vigilant since the events unfolding in Rio are not solely Brazil’s burden; they serve as a stark warning. A society that begins to place bounties on its own citizens edges closer to systemic disintegration.
This proposed legislation embodies neither protection nor justice; it represents blood money. History will not absolve those who reduce human lives to mere monetary transactions.
Ultimately, this discourse transcends crime statistics or police financial incentives; it concerns the kind of society we endeavor to create—one in which life is cherished or one where death is commodified. If a new path is not forged, the streets of Rio may soon mimic a game where survival itself is the prize.
This Author
Monica Piccinini is a regular contributor to The Ecologist and a freelance writer covering issues related to environmental, health, and human rights.
