{"id":81305,"date":"2025-07-31T15:05:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T18:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=81305"},"modified":"2025-08-12T10:59:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T13:59:45","slug":"it-hasnt-been-35-days-its-been-35-years-mothers-of-the-acari-favela-massacre-continue-to-fight-for-justice-for-victims-of-forced-disappearance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=81305","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It Hasn\u2019t Been 35 Days, It\u2019s Been 35 Years\u2019: Mothers of the Acari Favela Massacre Continue to Fight for Justice for Victims of Forced Disappearance"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Thirty-five<\/a>
Thirty-five years have passed since the Acari Massacre. Mothers and family members gather to honor the eleven victims of forced disappearance by State agents. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

On July 26, 2025, the <\/span>Fala Akari Collective<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>Mothers of Acari Movement<\/span><\/a> held an event marking the 35th anniversary of the <\/span>Acari Massacre<\/span><\/a> and honoring the ongoing fight for justice for its victims. Hosted at the Mothers of Acari Cultural Space, the gathering brought together around 50 people, including representatives from both collectives, mothers and family members of the victims of the <\/span>Acari<\/span><\/a> massacre, <\/span>relatives of victims of State violence<\/span><\/a> from other favelas, lawyers and researchers accompanying the Acari case, parliamentary representatives, and other residents of the Acari favela.<\/span><\/p>\n

Between Threats, Slander and Reparations, a 35-Year Struggle<\/b><\/h3>\n

On July 26, 1990, Cristiane Souza Leite, 16, Rosana Lima de Souza, 18, Wallace do Nascimento, 17, Edio do Nascimento, 41, Luiz Carlos de Vasconcelos, 37, Mois\u00e9s dos Santos Cruz, 31, Ant\u00f4nio Carlos da Silva, 17, Viviane Rocha, 13, Luiz Henrique Euz\u00e9bio, 17, Hudson de Souza, 16, and Edson de Souza, 17, were spending the day at a rural property in Suru\u00ed, <\/span>Mag\u00e9<\/span><\/a>\u2014a municipality in Greater Rio de Janeiro\u2019s <\/span>Baixada Fluminense<\/span><\/a> region\u2014when they were forcibly taken by a group of men who identified themselves as police officers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The kidnappers were after jewelry and money and, after \u201cnegotiating\u201d for about an hour (according to Dona Laudicena, a now-deceased witness to the case), took the eleven victims to an unknown location. Their bodies were never found. Since then, the victims\u2019 mothers have been searching for their children and demanding justice\u2014a struggle that has lasted 35 years. They became <\/span>internationally known<\/span><\/a> as the Mothers of Acari, Acari being the Rio de Janeiro favela where most of the eleven victims lived.<\/span><\/p>\n

In their efforts to expose the State agents responsible for the massacre, the mothers faced persecution, slander, threats, and a brutal tragedy. Edm\u00e9ia da Silva, one of the leading figures of the Mothers of Acari, was assassinated on January 19, 1993. The men accused of her murder were acquitted in 2024<\/a>. On July 1, 2022\u201432 years after the massacre\u2014the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly (ALERJ) passed Law No. 9.753<\/a>, which mandates financial compensation from the State Government to the mothers of the victims of the Acari Massacre. In 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found the Brazilian State guilty<\/a> of the crime.<\/p>\n

\"Attendees<\/a>
Attendees at the event marking 35 years since the Acari Massacre, held at the Fala Akari Collective headquarters on July 26, 2025. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018To Make Sure That the Memory of These Young People\u2019s Existence Is Not Lost\u2019<\/b><\/h3>\n

Banners displayed throughout the event space honored the historic struggle of the <\/span>Mothers of Acari<\/span><\/a>, including posters styled like street signs commemorating the names of the eleven victims of the massacre. The posters also paid tribute to the five young men killed in the <\/span>Costa Barros Massacre<\/span><\/a>, whose car was shot 111 times by Military Police, along with T-shirts and flags in memory of victims of State violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Buba Aguiar, a sociologist, grassroots communicator, and member of the Fala Akari Collective, opened the event by highlighting the importance of holding it on the exact day that marked 35 years since the disappearance of the eleven victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we\u2019re holding this event to honor the memory of the eleven young people who were disappeared in what became known as the Acari Massacre\u2026 We see the use of forced disappearance by police forces, [which are the] State\u2019s security forces, and by vigilante militias. And that\u2019s yet another connection we\u2019re making: they were victims of forced disappearance by [an] extermination group [called] Cavalos Corredores (Running Horses). With the restructuring of these extermination groups, we have what we today know as the militia [vigilante of-duty police gangs]. There are many ways to murder not only a person\u2019s body, but to try to assassinate\u2014to eradicate\u2014their existence, the memory that they ever even existed. That\u2019s why we\u2019re here today: to make sure that the memory of these young people\u2019s lives, the importance of the struggle of the Mothers of Acari, and of the family members who are still with us, is not lost. Because that\u2019s exactly what the State wants.\u201d \u2014 Buba Aguiar<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Aline Leite, a relative of one of the victims of the Acari Massacre and a member of the Mothers of Acari Movement, followed with remarks as part of the event\u2019s opening.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case devastated many families\u2014families like ours\u2014but also an entire community\u2026 all of Rio de Janeiro, and even internationally. But today we are here to speak and to share the memory of the eleven young people who were disappeared in the 1990s at a rural property in Mag\u00e9\u2026 It hasn\u2019t been 35 days, [or] 35 months. It\u2019s been 35 years.\u201d \u2014 Aline Leite<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Struggle,<\/a>
Struggle, longing, and memory. From left to right: Deley de Acari, Aline Leite, and Marisa Pinheiro recite poems during the event. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The event\u2019s opening was followed by a poetry circle led by <\/span>Deley de Acari<\/span><\/a>\u2014a cultural producer, writer, activist, and poet from Acari\u2014alongside other residents. Marisa Pinheiro, from <\/span>Espa\u00e7o Faveleira<\/span><\/a>, recited a poem by Jurema Ara\u00fajo that speaks to the pain and anguish of losing a child:<\/span><\/p>\n

LAMENT (or THE WORLD\u2019S BIGGEST BLOW or THE PAIN OF THE POOR IS SAPPINESS TO INTELLECTUALS and OTHER PSEUDO-OUCHES)<\/p>\n

My beloved son I lost
\nMoving down life\u2019s lonely journey
\nTears of aching pain I cry
\nFrom a heart so badly broken<\/p>\n

I cry my disappeared child
\nI cry my womb\u2019s lost fruit
\nNot gone from me in life
\nBut taken by a death too violent<\/p>\n

This, no mother can bear
\nIt\u2019s the most hurtful of pains
\nIt\u2019s having your soul all twisted
\nIt\u2019s having a wound that won’t heal<\/p>\n

I tread on searching
\nTrying to freeze time still
\nTrying to undo the moment
\nWhen tragedy swallowed it all<\/p>\n

Me? I also died
\nIn that same exact moment
\nRemembering your face is calming
\nFor my senseless living.
\n(Poem by Jurema Ara\u00fajo)<\/p>\n

\"Fala<\/a>
Fala Akari Collective members Let\u00edcia Pinheiro and Buba Aguiar highlight the importance of valuing these struggles as a way of asserting existence within communities like Acari. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next, Acari residents and Fala Akari members Buba Aguiar and Let\u00edcia Pinheiro introduced the collective, and its various lines of work in the neighborhood.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[Fala Akari] is a youth collective made up of us\u2014women born and raised in this favela. The main point I think we\u2019ve carried with us all these years is that we do want to call out violations, we do want to talk about violence, but that\u2019s not all we want to talk about. We also want to talk about the possibility of a future. That\u2019s where putting together a community-based college prep course comes from, and where the Agenda Acari project also comes from\u2026 The collective uses <\/span>grassroots media<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>popular education<\/span><\/a> as strategies so that we, as residents, can truly belong to this place. And there\u2019s the issue of <\/span>State terrorism<\/span><\/a>, of massacres, of forced disappearances. That shouldn\u2019t be something only the families deal with\u2014it\u2019s a collective issue, something that concerns all of us. So the more we take this history to heart, the more we take the process of these struggles to heart, the more we\u2019re reaffirming our own lives, our own existence, within this territory.\u201d \u2014 Let\u00edcia Pinheiro<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2018They Became Mothers in Search of Their Children\u2019<\/h3>\n

The discussion circles held during the event aimed to remember the historic struggle of the Mothers of Acari and the legacy they have left for other relatives of victims of State violence. Two mothers were present at the event; the others\u2014some due to age, others because they\u2019ve passed away\u2014were represented by relatives of the victims.<\/p>\n

Dona Teresa de Souza, mother of Edson Souza Costa\u2014who was 16 when he disappeared\u2014denounced the lack of answers in a moving statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still here, [but] some parents have already passed without ever knowing anything\u2026 They didn\u2019t even leave us our children\u2019s bones so we could bury them with dignity. They vanished. Disappeared. What did they do? To this day, we still don\u2019t know.\u201d \u2014 Dona Teresa de Souza<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dona Ana Maria da Silva, mother of Ant\u00f4nio Carlos da Silva\u2014who was 17 when he disappeared\u2014was the other mother present at the event.<\/p>\n

\"Dona<\/a>
Dona Teresa de Souza, one of the Mothers of Acari, speaks about her struggle, pain, and the lack of answers even 35 years after the massacre. The banner behind her reads: “Giving up is not an option!” Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vanine de Souza Nascimento, one of the relatives of the victims of the Acari Massacre, publicly thanked the mothers who never gave up on the fight from the very beginning, when they were first faced with the disappearance of their children.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe, friends and family, have to thank these women this morning\u2014because it\u2019s thanks to their courage and to them carrying on without even knowing where it would all lead, that we’re here today. They were the pioneers, the starters of this movement [of mothers of victims of State violence in various favelas]\u2014something that, back then, they had no idea would become a movement. They came together and, in 1990, became mothers in search of their children\u2014mothers who dug through the earth with their own hands, mothers who fought and risked their own lives.\u201d \u2014 Vanine de Souza Nascimento<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Representing the <\/span>ODH Legal Project<\/span><\/a>, which defends the rights of children, adolescents, and other groups facing social vulnerability, Lucas Arnaud shared an update on the legal proceedings with the mothers and families present. The lawyer spoke about the <\/span>Brazilian State\u2019s being convicted by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights<\/span><\/a>, handed down in December 2024, for the forced disappearance of the eleven victims.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA crucial acknowledgment was finally made\u2014one that, unfortunately, hadn\u2019t been made until now: that the State is responsible, and that a forced disappearance did in fact occur. This had been a longstanding demand from the families, and while it might sound like a technical issue, it\u2019s actually very significant. It shows that this is truly a cruel act\u2014not only executing sons, husbands, but also disappearing with their bodies\u2026 So [after the ruling], little by little, families have been receiving compensation and gaining access to healthcare, which is something crucial that the Inter-American Court demands: that the impacts this whole situation has had on <\/span>families\u2019 health<\/span><\/a> be acknowledged\u2026 And, at the same time, the Inter-American Court calls for another interesting aspect, which is the set of preventive measures\u2014measures meant to stop these cases from happening again.\u201d \u2014 Lucas Arnaud<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Dona<\/a>
Dona Ana Maria da Silva, one of the Acari mothers, listens to the speakers during the event. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

F\u00e1bio Ara\u00fajo, a professor and researcher who studied the Mothers of Acari movement, explained how the struggle of these women was, in many ways, a pioneering one.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the greatness of the Mothers of Acari movement is that it was a precursor, bringing with it the ability to organize\u2014something that, until then, other groups hadn\u2019t been able to do in order to file these kinds of complaints. And as we heard here today, in many of the stories shared, it\u2019s extremely difficult to speak out when you live in a favela, in close proximity to these [armed police] groups. And in the case of disappearances, there\u2019s the added factor of the absence of a body\u2026 You can\u2019t report a killing if there\u2019s no body. And from the point of view\u2026 of a business culture, of our State culture, disappearances are treated as events of lesser importance.\u201d \u2014 F\u00e1bio Ara\u00fajo<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2018What Kind of Democracy Is This?\u2019<\/h3>\n

Nivia Raposo, from the <\/span>Movement of Mothers and Relatives of Victims of State Lethal Violence and the Forcibly Disappeared<\/span><\/a>; Patricia Oliveira, from the <\/span>Network of Communities and Movements Against Violence<\/span><\/a>; and former councilwoman <\/span>Monica Cunha<\/span><\/a>, co-founder of Movimento Moleque and creator of the <\/span>Commission to Combat Racism in the Rio de Janeiro City Council<\/span><\/a>, spoke about the importance of the Mothers of Acari\u2019s activism for other mothers and relatives of victims.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I am the person I am today, it\u2019s because Vera and Marilene opened the doors\u2026 and taught everyone who\u2019s here today\u2014and even those who aren\u2019t\u2014what the struggle of relatives of victims of State violence is. It\u2019s being at a protest, taking part in a public hearing, demanding your rights, drafting a bill. If there\u2019s something we can celebrate in these 35 years, [it\u2019s that the] Mothers of Acari [taught] other mothers and relatives to raise their voices and fight for their rights.\u201d \u2014 Patricia Oliveira<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"From<\/a>
From left to right: Nivia Raposo, Patricia Oliveira, and Monica Cunha speak about the legacy of the Mothers of Acari for other mothers and relatives of victims of State violence. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Monica Cunha questions the democracy we live in<\/a>, since the system still allows for forced disappearances and the killing of mostly Black youth in massacres and while allegedly resisting arrest.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike Patricia said, the massacres we\u2019re talking about\u2014Acari, Candel\u00e1ria, Vig\u00e1rio Geral, and others\u2014happened after the end of the <\/span>Military Dictatorship<\/span><\/a>. They happened in a country that calls itself a democracy. But what kind of democracy is this? Just look at the number of massacres. And if we\u2019re going to count the number of people killed or disappeared in this massacre alone. and we know there were others, though we never counted them because we don\u2019t have those figures\u2026 [In] a democratic country. So, in this democracy that keeps on killing us, because it hasn\u2019t done a single thing to fight racism, they\u2014and we\u2014are still out here making history. Because today, in this country\u2026 if you want to talk about public safety, if you want to talk about this violence, this racism we live with, you have to talk to the families of victims. There\u2019s no book, no scholar or anyone who can speak on this without us. The decisions only happened because we put ourselves out there and said we weren\u2019t going to take it.\u201d \u2014 Monica Cunha<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

35 years later, the Mothers of Acari remain a pioneering movement in the struggles of women whose loved ones were victims of forced disappearances and State violence. With them, a legacy of resistance and persistence was forged\u2014one that has been followed by many other mothers and relatives who have also become victims. In the face of institutional silence that has lasted for decades, these movements continue the fight for memory, truth and justice.<\/span><\/p>\n

See the Full Album by B\u00e1rbara Dias on Flickr<\/a>:<\/b><\/h3>\n

\""35<\/a>