Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Brazilian Military Police Officer Pepper-Sprays Woman During Rio De Janeiro Protests

As nationwide protests continue in Brazil, local news media estimated that approximately 240,000 people took to the streets Monday to voice their frustration over issues ranging from poor access to services and the high cost of the upcoming World Cup, to heavy-handed policing.

While many of the protests were peaceful, a few in Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte on Monday were marred by looting and clashes with police. Images from the protests have proliferated on social media, making headlines around the world. One particularly jarring photo has defined the protests for an international audience.

Associated Press photographer Victor R. Caivano captured this powerful image of a military police officer pepper-spraying a female protester during a demonstration in Rio on Monday night.

Business Insider called the photo, in which the unidentified woman appears to take a blast of pepper spray to the face at close range, the protests' "defining image."

The blog goes on to compare it to a recent photo out of Turkey that shows a woman in a red dress being sprayed with tear gas. That photo served to galvanize support for the protests against the government of Prime Minister Erdogan.

Erdogan has vowed to bring an end to the mass demonstrations, and security forces carried out raids and detained people suspected of involvement in violence against police, according to the CBC.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com
Author:  Andres Jauregui 

No comments:

Post a Comment