New York Times | By LARRY ROHTER | January 21, 2002
The shooting death of the opposition mayor of a city bordering Sao Paulo, the latest in a series of attacks on leftist officials in Brazil's largest state, has plunged the country into a crisis that affects both public security and presidential politics.
Celso Daniel, mayor of the industrial suburb of Santo Andre, was kidnapped Friday night in Sao Paulo. His body, riddled with bullets, was found Sunday on a dirt road. He was buried this afternoon amid a nationwide outpouring of grief and anger. An explosion of violent crime has provoked criticism of the police and become an issue in the presidential election scheduled for October. More than 300 people were reported kidnapped in Sao Paulo state last year.
Because of Mr. Daniel's leftist political affiliation and the lack of a ransom request, his kidnapping and assassination also touched off fears of a re-emergence of the death squads that killed government opponents during the military dictatorship that ended in 1985. "This is intolerable," Marta Suplicy, the mayor of Sao Paulo, said of the violence at an emotional wake this afternoon for her colleague, attended by thousands of people.
Mr. Daniel, 50, was a close friend to the main leader of the leftist Workers' Party, Luiz Inacio da Silva. Better known as "Lula," Mr. da Silva is the party's candidate for president. An economics professor, Mr. Daniel led the commission that drew up the Workers' Party platform. It includes a plank warning of a "frightening growth of violence."
On Sept. 10, Antonio Costa Santos, the mayor of Campinas, the state's second largest city, was shot to death. A month later, another Workers' Party mayor was injured by a bomb. In November, a previously unknown group calling itself the Brazilian Revolutionary Armed Forces took credit for both attacks in letters sent to party officials. More recently, the Workers' Party congressional delegation has received e-mail threats against Mr. da Silva, apparently sent by the same group. "Lula is not going to assume the presidency, for two reasons," one message warned. "We don't like the Workers' Party, and Lula isn't bulletproof."
The Ministry of Justice announced that as a result of Mr. Daniel's killing, bodyguards would be provided to all presidential candidates. Mr. da Silva is scheduled to meet with President Fernando Henrique Cardoso on Tuesday to discuss the larger public security crisis.
"The arrogance of the criminals is exceeding all limits, and we need to react," Mr. Cardoso, who is also from Sao Paulo, said late Sunday.New York Times:
