Brasília, April 29, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - Yesterday (28), the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Rosinha Garotinho, asked President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to assign four thousand Army troops to occupy critical areas in Rio de Janeiro. The governor's intention is to keep the military forces in the state capital until the end of this year, when the 1,800 military police recently approved in a public examination will be trained to operate in the slums ("favelas"). "We made it clear that we don't want the Army to remain permanently. Just until the men from the police are ready," she said.

The governor proceeded from the Planalto Palace to the Ministry of Defense, where she discussed the dispatch of military contingents with Minister José Viegas. After a meeting that lasted less than half an hour, she declared that by the end of the day Viegas would meet with President Lula and the Minister of Justice, Márcio Thomaz Bastos, to discuss the matter in greater detail.

For his part, the state secretary of Public Safety, Anthony Garotinho (Rosinha's husand and predecessor in the governor's office), assured that the Army personnel will operate in specific areas of the state capital. He reiterated that the troops will not remain in the state permanently. "It is not the Army on a definitive basis. It is because we are occupying the biggest complexes infested with drugs and weapons. So we want them temporarily, until our battalion is ready. Under the command of the Military Police or the military, it doesn't matter," he said.

During her meeting with President Lula in the Planalto Palace, Governor Rosinha Garotinho also submitted a list containing six demands for Rio de Janeiro in the area of public safety. The President, according to the governor, pledged to respond to the state's requests, including the assignment of troops, by May 10. In addition to the participation of Army personnel, the demands include an increase in the number of Federal Highway Police troopers and operations in conjunction with the federal administration on federal highways.

The governor also asked the federal government for the immediate disbursement of funds for prison restoration and construction in the state. The cost of each new penitentiary is estimated at around R$ 16 million. "Last year we requested US$ 4.7 million (R$ 14 million) for the prison system, and only US$ 161.9 thousand (R$ 478 thousand) were paid, including funds to conclude the hall of detention in Rio," she averred.

Translator: David Silberstein