While you are reading this, millions of citizens are stuck in their homes because the Military Police of Espirito Santo is on strike. The consequence is a real life ”purge” that started on the 4th of February. Police officers were tired of not being paid enough and not having better conditions at work, so they and their families stood up and locked themselves in their offices, resulting in policing being suspended in Espirito Santo until further notice.
Subsequent of the suspended patrol in the cities, criminals are taking control of the streets. It started as a rumor in videos on social media saying what would happen if you stay outside. Now, streets are empty, schools and public transportation have been suspended, stores are being looted, hospitals are totally full, and every citizen is afraid of leaving their house because they might be robbed or even killed!
What is happening in Espirito Santo is not even on the news. Other states are only getting information through social media. The only thing the government is doing is sending 1000 military forces to protect the entire state. We can blame the government for not providing better conditions or better salaries for the police earlier on, but now that Espirito Santo needs help, they need to focus on coming up with appropriate solutions.
Olmedis, a 24-years-old living in Espirito Santo spoke to me about what is truly going on since the media is not properly covering the situation:
”I live in São Mateus, in the northwestern part of Espirito Santo.
The police claim that they aren’t paid enough. They want to protest or go on a strike but they can’t because they provide an essential service, so their relatives are encouraging police officers to stay locked in their battalions, obstructing the passage of vehicles and are not letting Police officers do patrols. Because the police are not doing their jobs, criminals are taking control of every city. I have contacts in another city and they told me that Vitoria (capital of Espirito Santo) has thieves in malls and that even famous streets like Rua da Lama are having a huge problem with mass shootings and criminals. They robbed a bus in a terminal and set fire to other buses. The city is deserted; all commerce is closed. Delinquents have set a curfew and have given warnings about what neighborhoods are going to be attacked next. The government tried to negotiate with police officers but unfortunately, they failed. The situation here is truly calamity. We’ve been locked in our homes since Saturday.”
It is clear that Espirito Santo is heading to complete anarchy. So it is completely necessary that people begin bringing attention to the conditions of its citizens before it is too late. We need to cause change ourselves since we cannot currently rely on those meant to protect us. If we don’t, we’ll have only ourselves to blame.
