Who was Marielle Francisco da Silva

Marielle Francisco da Silva, known as Marielle Franco, was a sociologist and brazilian politician. Marielle was born on July 27, 1979. She grew up on Complexo da Maré, one of Rio’s groups of favelas. Graduated by PUC-Rio on Social Science, she got her masters degree in Public Administration by UFF.

She was a black woman, a mother, bisexual and favelada. She was also the fifth congresswoman most voted in the 2016 election. All of her work was looking for the community. Before her politician career she worked as camelô with her parents and later as school educator at a nursery near where she used to live.

Marielle became a social activist, fighting for human rights, when a friend of hers died due to a stray bullet, during a confrontation between the police and bandits. At the age of 19 years old, Marielle became a mother, then she started to fight for women rights and to discuss it in the city’s periphery, especially inside the favelas. Her mandate is known for being involved with women rights, defending human rights inside the favelas, and supporting the Black community and LGBTQIA+ community.

Franco worked beside Marcelo Freixo during 10 years as his parliamentary advisor, taking the place as coordinator of Commission for the Defense of Human Rights and Citizenship at ALERJ. In that position, Marielle helped murder victms and police officers vicmized. In the 2016 election, she was elected as congresswoman, with 46.502 votes. Marielle Franco was the second most voted woman in the whole country for congresswoman. During Marielle’s mandate, she wrote and made sixteen bills, which two of them were approved.

One of the most famous speeches of Marielle Franco is the one that she gave in the 2018 International Women’s Day, where she says: “{…} The confrontation for who came from favela, we are violated and abused for too long and in many moments. At this time, for example, where the federal intervention became real by the military intervention, I want to know how would be mothers and families of those searched children. How would be the female doctor that can not work at those health clinics. How would be women that do not have access to the city? These are a lot of women. They are balck women; lesbian women; trans women; rural women; women that build this city {…}”

“How many will need to die to get this war ended?”, that was Marielle’s tweet on the day before her murder. Marielle Fancisco da Silva was murder by thirteen gunshots over her car. Marielle and Anderson Pedro Matias Gomes, her driver, did not survive.

On the night of march 14, 2018, Marielle was on her way to her home from a meeting in Estácio, Rio’s Downtown, to discuss female blackness. When her car was being followed by another car that had two men inside of it, Ronnie Lessa and Élcio Queiroz. Only one year after Marielle and Anderson murder that the “suspected” had been acussed. Ronnie was accused for being the author of the gunshots and Élcio Queiroz being the driver of the car.

Marielle Franco left us with a legacy, she fought for groups that are living under oppression constantly, she was the support, inside the system, to the black community, mainly black women, was a support to the lives inside the favelas and to the LGBTQIA+ community.

Marielle’s case is still open.

Written by Thamires Brito