Marielle Franco grew up in the Maré favela, one of Rio de Janeiro's largest and poorest communities, and became a sociologist studying the very inequalities she had lived. In 2016 she was elected to Rio's City Council with the fifth-highest vote count in the city — the only Black woman among the council's 51 members.
As a Black, bisexual, single mother from the favelas, Franco used her seat to speak for groups rarely represented in Brazilian politics: the urban poor, Afro-Brazilians, women and LGBTQ people. She was an outspoken critic of police violence in Rio's favelas and of a federal military intervention in the city's security.
On 14 March 2018 she was assassinated in a targeted shooting alongside her driver, Anderson Gomes, sparking mass protests across Brazil and around the world under the hashtag #MariellePresente.
- Elected to Rio de Janeiro's City Council with the fifth-highest vote count citywide
- Sole Black woman on a 51-member city council
- Outspoken advocate against police violence in Rio's favelas
- Namesake of a global protest movement, #MariellePresente
- Bring the perspective of the community you come from directly into the chamber.. She was the only councillor to represent Rio's favelas from lived experience.
- Represent every part of your identity, not just the one that's convenient.. She spoke openly as a Black, bisexual, single mother in Brazilian politics.
- A voice silenced by violence can still grow louder afterward.. #MariellePresente became a global rallying cry after her death.