Brazil Crime Proposal: President-elect proposes loosening gun restrictions

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Europe

02:39

In Brazil, a controversial proposal to end street crime. President-elect Jair Bolsonaro's has proposed giving police more autonomy to open fire on suspected criminals and to end most restrictions on gun ownership. CGTN's Lucrecia Franco reports from Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil registered a record of almost 64,000 homicides in 2017, up three percent from the year before, according to a study by the Brazilian Forum of Public security think tank. President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, a pro-gun former-army captain, has promised radical solutions to fight violence.

JAIR BOLSONARO BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT "I want civil police and military police to defend the people and shoot to kill."

Another pledge is to loosen restrictions on gun-ownership. Many Brazilians are expecting that will happen soon.

LUCRECIA FRANCO RIO DE JANEIRO "Since Bolsonaro was elected president and promised to relax gun-laws, demand for training courses in shoot clubs like this one has increased by fifty percent."

Rildo Anjos, owner of this gun club and a Bolsonaro supporter, says he now has 150 students, up from 100.

RILDO ANJOS, OWNER CALIBER 12" GUN CLUB "It is a matter of prevention because a good citizen is not going to fight crime, that is the role of the police, but he should have the right to have guns for self-defense."

For that to happen, Brazil would have to scrap a 2003 disarmament law that bans almost everyone except those serving on security forces from carrying weapons. And Brazil's Congress is poised to do just that - once Bolsonaro takes office. Rubem Cesar, a long-time gun-control advocate says the present law is not working, but Bolsonaro's proposals are even worse.

RUBEM CESAR, DIRECTOR VIVA RIO NGO "So I am very scared, very afraid of the kind of policy which stimulates simply the use of guns and that means reacting against a history of gun-control and human rights."

Bolsonaro's new pro-gun policies could bring Brazil much closer to the United States' 'right to bear arms' model, which many experts here argue is a proven failure. Lucrecia Franco, CGTN, Rio de Janeiro.