Nov 21 2025| Nº. 183

Editorial

Brazil opened the week at the center of the global conversation over climate changes as negotiators in Belém pushed toward a first draft of COP30’s final declaration, unveiling proposals aimed at keeping global temperature rise below 1.5°C. According to Brazilian officials, the draft text presented on Thursday includes commitments on climate finance, adaptation funding, and a roadmap for transitioning away from fossil fuels—all areas Brazil has identified as the summit’s four core priorities. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has sought to use COP30 to position Brazil as a bridge between wealthy nations and the Global South, framing the damages of climate change as a broader issue of social justice. Delegates warned that without firmer commitments from major emitters, progress could stall, but negotiators left the first week cautiously optimistic that Belém could produce one of the most ambitious COP outcomes in years.

That optimism was strain somewhat from an unexpected diplomatic dust-up involving German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose off-the-cuff remarks about Belém triggered backlash across Brazil. In comments widely circulated by German and Brazilian media, Merz suggested that conditions in the Amazonian host city were “difficult” and that future global summits might be better placed elsewhere, a statement Brazilian officials blasted as disrespectful and rooted in stereotypes about the region. Merz later said he regretted the impression his comments created, stressing that Germany welcomed Brazil’s climate leadership. Indeed, on Thursday, the German government committed one billion Euros to the flagship forest investment fund Lula has championed at COP. Still, the episode revived long-standing sensitivities about how the Amazon is portrayed abroad. For Brazilian diplomats working to showcase Belém as a capable COP host—especially amid contentious negotiations—the controversy was a distracting sideshow.

Another unwelcome development was continued fallout from a scandal involving Banco Master, a mid-sized lender known for aggressive credit operations and a fast-growing fintech portfolio. The Central Bank ordered its liquidation after a sharp liquidity crunch and mounting doubts about its risk exposure triggered a run on deposits. Insured accounts are being transferred to other banks, and officials stressed that the failure does not pose systemic risk. Even so, the speed of Master’s unraveling rattled markets and reignited debate over oversight of smaller institutions that operate in the gray zone between traditional banking and high-yield credit.

Highlights

• New Minister. President Lula confirmed this Thursday, November 20, the nomination of Jorge Messias for the open seat on the Brazilian Supreme Court. Messias will replace Luís Roberto Barroso, who retired. The new nominee is 45 years old and holds a doctorate in law. He was nominated by Lula in 2023 to head the Attorney General's Office. One of Messias's unique characteristics is that he is an evangelical Christian and makes biblical comments on social media – a behavior more frequently associated with Bolsonaro's base. Messias's nomination contradicts pressure from organizations and social movements that demanded Lula nominate a Black woman for the position.

• Racism1. Research by the Sou da Paz Institute revealed that Black men in Brazil are 211% more likely to be killed by firearms than white men. The study, published this Thursday, November 20, Black Awareness Day, reveals that 80% of homicide victims in the country are Black, aged between 20 and 29, and killed in public places. This disparity is recorded throughout the nation, but it is even more pronounced in the states of the Northeast.

• Racism2. Another survey published on Black Awareness Day reveals that 80% of Brazilians perceive differences in treatment between whites and Blacks in shopping malls, supermarkets, stores, bars, and restaurants. In addition, most respondents also believe that Blacks are overlooked in work environments and schools. For 75% of people, racism is a central problem in the cities where they live.

• OAS Visit. Albert Ramdin, the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS), made an official visit to Brazil on November 17 and 18. This was the first official visit of an OAS Secretary-General to Brasília in 9 years. Ramdin met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Mauro Vieira at the Itamaraty Palace. The two discussed the current state of the OAS, cooperation initiatives between Brazil and the Organization, the situation in Haiti, and the political situation in the Americas, among other topics.

• Anti-Gangs Bill. The Chamber of Deputies approved this week a bill that alters public security policy in Brazil to combat criminal organizations. The text, authored by far-right congressman Captain Derrite, conditions the actions of the Federal Police on the approval of state governments and makes it more difficult to freeze the assets of criminal groups. In practice, the measures weaken the fight against crime, but Bolsonaro's supporters welcomed the measures as strengthening legislation. See the article that WBO publishes in this edition of the bulletin on this issue.

• Bolsonaro's Imprisonment. The Brazilian Supreme Court may decree as early as next week the beginning of the 27-year and 3-month sentence imposed on former President Jair Bolsonaro for involvement in a failed coup d'état. This possibility was opened by the publication of the judgment in the case, in which the defense's arguments are denied.

News from ABO and social organizations and movements:

New newsletter. WBO and Instituto Lavoro launched a new free monthly Portuguese-language newsletter this week to internationalize the debate on labor and social rights. The publication is part of a joint effort that over the next 12 months aims to broaden the international reach of issues such as the growing temporary and precarious nature of the labor market as well as other issues such as work on digital platforms, working hours, equal pay, union organization, and respect for human rights standards in the world of work. Subscribe to the newsletter to receive it free of charge by email.

Devastation Bill. The Institute for Society, Population and Nature (ISPN), in partnership with WBO, the Climate Observatory, and Conectas Human Rights, issued an alert this Friday, November 14 to the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (Redesca) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) about what they classify as a “serious risk of institutional dismantling of the National Environmental System (Sisnama)” in Brazil, caused by the so-called Devastation Bill. Read more.

COP30. The Brazil Office Alliance held a special panel at COP30 in Belém, in partnership with the Vladimir Herzog Institute and the Cerrado Network, on the future of the Amazon and the Cerrado, the latter being a strategic and deeply threatened biome. The objective was to amplify the voices and solutions that originate in different regions of the country and that need to guide global decisions on climate and biodiversity. Read more.

Affected by dams. On Sunday, November 16, at the closing of the People's Summit, more than a thousand organizations from all countries present in Belém welcomed the creation of the International Movement of People Affected by Dams and the Climate Crisis, in a gesture of recognition of the importance that this organization has in several countries and will have in its international character. Read more.

Feature Article

Why does the Brazilian Right Want to Weaken the Federal Police?

By Lindbergh Farias*

The opinions of Guilherme Derrite, the Secretary of Security of São Paulo and a congressman, who supports Bolsonaro, and bill Bill 5.582/2025, known as the Anti-Gang Bill, constitute a true attack on the constitutional order in Brazil and is a reward for organized crime.

The sixth version of what has come to be known as "Frankenstein" substitute language for the Anti-Gang Bill, which was approved on November 18th by the Chamber of Deputies, deepens normative disorganization and maintains serious structural flaws, especially by withdrawing resources from the Federal Police, weakening the national coordination body overseeing issues related to crime, and contradicting the spirit of the Constitutional Amendment Proposal on Public Security sent by the Lula government to the National Congress.

Instead of strengthening the Federal Police, the text promoted a budgetary fragmentation in relation to funds that compromises the efficiency in confronting criminal organizations operating across state lines. In that regard it is an affront to the Anti-Faction Bill sent by the Lula government to Congress. The substitute bill also dismantled the policy of draining the financial resources of criminal organizations by eliminating the special injunctions foreseen in the original bill, replacing them with existing instruments and creating the fiction of "autonomous civil action," which only adds delays, legal uncertainty, and fragmentation to asset recovery procedures.

The approved bill brought serious pitfalls: it removed the federal government's control over the sale and destruction of seized assets, striking at the heart of the policy of taking control of the financial resources of criminal organizations. Instead of strengthening the State, it weakens the Federal Police and makes it more difficult to force the forfeiting of organized crime’s assets. The creation of an autonomous civil action for the forfeiture of assets is a legal farce that will delay confiscation and reduce the Federal Police's resources in the fight against crime.

The Bolsonaro-supporting congressman attacked the backbone of the Anti-Faction Bill – precisely the ability to quickly block illicit resources and strike at the financial heart of criminal groups.

Furthermore, the far-right congressman invented categories without legal basis in an attempt to erase the rigorous terminology of "criminal gang" introduced in the original text of the federal government.

This type of conceptual improvisation weakens criminal policy, confuses legal professionals, and masks the real objective: to disfigure the Executive's technical and consistent proposal, replacing it with a jumble of empty concepts and contradictory provisions. In practice, this confusion creates legal chaos that will only favor the lawyers of criminal gangs.

Why didn't Derrite propose changes to the Law on Criminal Organizations, the Penal Code, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, creating a fourth legal norm, which he called the "Legal Framework for Combating Organized Crime"?

There's a lot up in the air. The far-right governors have once again acted against the logic of the Security Amendment, which advocates for the integration and strengthening of police forces. They defended the vote on the Anti-Faction Bill, arguing that it would restore the logic of protectionism, harming the autonomy of the Federal Police and preventing it from acting fully against organized crime.

To understand the scenario, it's important to remember that this offensive is not accidental: Operation Hidden Carbon, carried out by the Federal Police, which targeted laundering and adulteration of fuel networks linked to large economic and political groups, raised alarm bells among governors and businessmen under investigation. If Derrite's proposal had been in effect, more than R$ 1 billion from organized crime would not have been confiscated, nor would the fuel from four ships seized by the Federal Revenue Service in Rio de Janeiro.

The most emblematic example is that of Governor Cláudio Castro of Rio de Janeiro, who, fearful of the repercussions of Operation Hidden Carbon, revealed possible connections between his government, the company Refit, and fuel adulteration schemes associated with criminal factions.

There is also an open inquiry by Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court, seeking to investigate the relationships between organized crime and public officials, which explains the discomfort and haste in weakening the Anti-Faction Bill in the Chamber of Deputies, as indeed occurred. The firm and autonomous action of the Federal Police bothers those who fear that the truth will come to light.

The attempt to subordinate the Federal Police to governors, a practice that had been occurring for 100 years, was defeated by popular mobilization. But the new movement shows that there are powerful sectors trying to retaliate against the firm action of the Federal Police, especially in investigations that touch on the links between political power, gangs, and militias.

The Federal Government refused to negotiate any measures that would defund and weaken the Federal Police – the main instrument in the fight against criminal organizations and corruption – nor any that would hinder the forfeiture of assets from organized crime. But the Chamber of Deputies approved this setback. Public security is impossible without a strong, autonomous Federal Police force, free from political constraints.

Recent figures demonstrate the effectiveness of the Lula government's strategy. Since 2023, integrated security actions, with the Federal Police at the forefront, have seized R$ 19.8 billion from criminals – the largest financial loss ever imposed on crime in the country. The number of Federal Police operations has increased by 80% since 2022. It is precisely this success that is causing concern.

The Anti-Faction Bill, in its original text (plus the Public Security Amendment), sought to sustain and expand these advances, financially crippling the gangs and modernizing the integration of security forces. However, the substitute bill approved by the Chamber of Deputies goes in the opposite direction. It is everyone's duty to vehemently reject this setback and reinstate the original text from the Lula government in the Federal Senate.

*Lindbergh Farias is a federal deputy (RJ) and leader of the Workers' Party caucus in the Chamber of Deputies.

Feature articles express the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or WBO.