The number of Brazilian citizens who have received firearms licenses has increased by 474% from 2018 to 2022, during which the Bolsonaro government has lowered the standards on this topic, according to an NGO published on Tuesday.
In 2018, the year President Jair Bolsonaro was elected, 117,467 people registered as sport shooters, hunters or collectors (grouped with the acronym CAC). This index has almost multiplied by six during the term of the head of state, which started in January 2019. In June 2022, 673,818 people registered as CACs, according to the Brazilian Public Security Forum (FBSP).
4.4 million weapons in private homes
«We have noticed a big increase in the number of firearms circulating in the country during Bolsonaro’s government.AFP was confirmed by researcher Renato Sergio de Lima, President of the FBSP. The NGO estimates that about 4.4 million weapons in Brazil are in the hands of individuals, according to protocols kept by the military and federal police, which give permits to civilians. «The problem is that almost a third of those firearms (1.5 million) are in an irregular state, and the permit (supposed to be periodically renewed) has not been renewed in time.“, – explains the researcher.
If the permits have expired, it is impossible to know whether the weapon was intended for use by criminals, the NGO warns. Since coming to power, former Army Captain Jair Bolsonaro has issued several orders to facilitate the availability of firearms, including allowing more weapons to be purchased and more ammunition to be purchased. Some of these decisions are analyzed by the Supreme Court, which must decide whether they are constitutional or not.
In its Public Safety Yearbook, the FBSP recorded 47,503 homicides in Brazil in 2021, down 6.5% from the previous year. But the NGO reminds that the largest country in Latin America still lives “extreme violence«:»In 2020, the fifth premeditated murder on the planet took place in BrazilWhich has only 2.7% of the world’s population (213 million inhabitants). The number of murders decreased in all regions of the country, except the north, where the Amazon is located (+ 7.9%).
The Amazon region, where journalist Dom Phillips and expert Bruno Pereira were killed on June 5, is concentrated in 13 of the 30 cities with the highest homicide rates in the country. The capital of Brazil’s most brutal state is Macapa, located in Amap:, on the border with Guyana, where the death toll rises from 63,000 to 63.2 per 100,000.
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.