Why Lula’s government resists declaring GLO in Rio de Janeiro

After the deadliest operation in the history of Rio de Janeiro, which left at least 132 dead in the Penha and Alemão complexes, the Lula government (PT) faces growing pressure, including internally, to decree a Guarantee of Law and Order (GLO) in the state. However, the Palácio do Planalto resists the measure, considering that the presence of the Armed Forces on the streets could worsen violence and generate strong political backlash. Lula and his main ministers assess that the use of GLO – an instrument authorizing the military to act in public security tasks – could turn Rio into a battlefield, with tanks and soldiers facing civilians, projecting an image of collapse to the world. The president and his team believe that a military operation in this context, marked by allegations of executions and over a hundred deaths, would have a too high humanitarian and symbolic cost.