PBS Wide Angle: 'Ransom City'

Kidnappers Prey on Mothers of Brazil's Wealthy Soccer Stars

Kidnapper in a favella in Sao Paulo, Brazil, "Ransom City" (PBS Wide Angle) (Benito Montorio/BBC (c) 2006)

Coordinating producer Charlotte Mangin was online Wednesday, Aug. 30, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the PBS Wide Angle film Ransom City , about the kidnapping of mothers of Brazil's wealthy soccer stars. The documentary explores the latest twist in crime on the streets of Sao Paulo.

As five "soccer moms" are abducted and held for ransom in a six-month period, Wide Angle travels to Sao Paulo, a city of sharp contrasts and inequalities, to explore this latest wave of crime in Brazil with unprecedented access to kidnappers and to key soccer stars.

A transcript follows.

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Arlington, Va.: Is this sort of thing prevalent in other countries and parts of the world? Does it occur with other famous or wealthy persons or is it primarily soccer stars because of their worldwide fame and money?

Charlotte Mangin: Yes, kidnapping occurs around the world and is particularly a threat in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Russia, the Philippines, and South Africa. It is of course happening in Iraq these days too, with journalists and politicians and judges major targets. In Brazil, wealthy businessmen and their families have traditionally been the main victims of kidnapping for large ransoms. The soccer stars have been targeted, as you mention, because of their fame and large salaries. But as upper class Brazilians increasingly hide behind gate homes and bodyguards, and commute in helicopters and armored cars, kidnappers in Sao Paulo have begun to prey on all social classes. Anyone who dresses nicely or drives a fancy car may be a potential target these days as "express" or "flash" kidnappings are increasingly common. Here, victims are driven to ATM bank machines and forced to withdraw the daily limit on their bank accounts. This can go on for days until the bank account is drained.

Charlotte Mangin: Yes, kidnapping occurs around the world and is particularly a threat in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Russia, the Philippines, and South Africa. It is of course happening in Iraq these days too, with journalists and politicians and judges major targets. In Brazil, wealthy businessmen and their families have traditionally been the main victims of kidnapping for large ransoms. The soccer stars have been targeted, as you mention, because of their fame and large salaries. But as upper class Brazilians increasingly hide behind gate homes and bodyguards, and commute in helicopters and armored cars, kidnappers in Sao Paulo have begun to prey on all social classes. Anyone who dresses nicely or drives a fancy car may be a potential target these days as "express" or "flash" kidnappings are increasingly common. Here, victims are driven to ATM bank machines and forced to withdraw the daily limit on their bank accounts. This can go on for days until the bank account is drained.

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Charlotte Mangin: Hello, I'm Charlotte Mangin, coordinating producer for Wide Angle. I look forward to your questions today about "Ransom City" and the phenomenon of kidnapping in Brazil.

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Toledo, Ohio: I lived in Brazil for two years, and really fell in love with the country, the language, the culture, but most of all, the people. What can I do to help from here in the states?

Charlotte Mangin: The main underlying causes of crime and violence in Brazil are high unemployment, extreme poverty, and the high income gap between rich and poor. Despite its incredible resources, Brazil is one of the most unequal societies in the world: mansions sit right next door to shantytowns, so the temptation to make easy money, through kidnapping for instance, is always present. Since coming to office in 2003, President Lula has launched some programs to combat poverty and inequality, including a school-scholarship progam that gives $15/month to poor mothers to keep their children in school rather than send them to wash windshields or sell food on the streets. This may sound like a pittance to many Americans, but for the millions of Brazilians living on less than $2/day it is quite significant. Programs such as this can improve day to day life and, most importantly, encourage children to go to school and get an education rather than risk sliding into a life of crime. All that to say, the problem is a very complex and deep-rooted one, and change must happen at all levels of society, and needs a real commitment from both government and non-governmental organization. There are many things you can do to help out as an American. For instance: write to your congressmen and senators to ensure our government pays more attention to Brazil in US foreign policy (Brazil is often overlooked on many people's agendas, and with America's focus today being on the Middle East, Latin America in general is a low priority). Do research into non-governmental organizations, both Brazilian organizations and international ones, that are working in the shantytowns ("favelas") of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and donate money or volunteer. Stay away from drugs: a lot of the narcotics that end up on American streets are trafficked by gangs that thrive on drug-dealing in the favelas of Brazil.

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Anderson, Ind.: These studies that you have broadcast are very good. The piece on kidnapping was very solid and raised some important questions regarding the future of constitutional government in Brazil. At what point are people going to demand that government take whatever measures to stop this plague of lawlessness and do whatever is necessary to stop it? Are alternative political forces now visible that are pushing proposals of this kind?

Charlotte Mangin: Glad to hear you enjoyed the film. You are right that many Brazilians are quite complacent about the problems in their society. The elite in particular tend to hide between gated homes and hope they don't become targets of crime. But since taking office in 2003, Brazil's President Lula has undertaken a number of programs to combat poverty and inequality -- which are the main underlying causes of crime and violence in Brazil. For instance a "Zero Hunger" campaign that provides income supplements of up to $35 a month to poor families. The program now reaches over 9 million poor families in Brazil. $35 a month may sound like a pittance to many Americans, but when you take into account that many Brazilians live on less than $2 a day, it makes a significant difference. There are also school scholarship programs now in place to encourage children to stay in school and get an education rather than hang out on the streets and risk choosing a life of crime. To learn more, please go to our Web site at PBS/Wide Angle where you can read an essay by expert Luis Bitencourt about kidnapping in Brazil and some of the programs being proposed by the Brazilian government to address the problem. Bitencourt is not optimistic however that the political will exists in Brazil today to create real change.

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Fairfax, Va.: Can you relate the story of the famous Robinho's mother? I thought that was interesting.

Charlotte Mangin: The mother of Robinho -- one of the rising soccer stars in Brazil -- was kidnapped by armed men who crashed a family party in November 2004. She was held for 41 days in captivity while Robinho's family negotiated the ransom payment. For more details about her kidnapping and the kidnappings of other soccer player's mothers in Brazil, there's a timeline on our Web site: PBS/Wide Angle.

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Pittsburgh, Pa.: Dear Charlotte

My wife and I left Brazil four years ago, the situation was pretty bad (my mother and my sister had this flash kidnappings). They are okay now, but the violence looks growing day by day. The government is totally corrupted and involved with this scheme. Do you think I am being pessimist?

People who live there don't have the same opinion. They get used to this violence.

Charlotte Mangin: Corruption is indeed a big problem in Brazil. President Lula's Workers Party was rocked by one of the biggest corruption scandals in Brazilian history last summer -- when several party leaders and some of Lula's top aids were forced to resign amidst allegations of illegal campaign funding, bribing congressmen, and handing out government jobs to political allies. There is also widespread corruption among law enforcement officials: many police are involved in crime, judges or prison guards can be paid off. All that to say, there is great need for anti-corruption efforts by all sectors of society in Brazil.

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Lisbon, Portugal: When these people are kidnapped, how badly are they treated?

Charlotte Mangin: There sometimes are mutilations and killings that occur during kidnappings, but often the threats are enough to get family members to pay a ransom. The kidnappers often send the family hostage videos of their family member tied up with guns pointed at their head, and threatening to cut off fingers or ears with knives. There is a plastic surgeon in Sao Paulo that has become a minor celebrity in recent years as he performs surgeries on patients who were mutilated by their abductors during kidnappings.

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washingtonpost.com: PBS Wide Angle, "Ransom City"

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Centreville, Va.: Why soccer moms? That is very odd. What are those people doing in Brazil so bad to get themselves kidnapped?

Charlotte Mangin: The epidemic of kidnapping celebrity soccer players' mothers started in November 2004 after the Brazilian media published reports that soccer star Robinho was earning up to half a million dollars a year. When the kidnapping of his mother was successful and ended in a ransom payment of $83,000 , other kidnappers got on the bandwagon and four more mothers of soccer players were abducted in 2005, in the hope of easy money. Three of them were rescued by police operations and one after a ransom was paid. The most recent kidnapping of a soccer player's mother occurred just a few weeks ago on August 2, 2006. So the phenomenon doesn't seem to be over. The soccer players aren't doing anything bad per se. Many of them are from poor neighborhoods originally and have now made it big as athletes (Robinho's life is a true rags-to-riches story, for instance), so people who have nothing are jealous.

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Washington, D.C.: Charlotte,

Brazil is a large and diverse country (ethnicity, wealth, resources, ecology). Are these kidnappings isolated to heavily populated cites like Sao Paulo, and Rio? How is the problem in the Northeast, South and Amazon regions?

Charlotte Mangin: Brazil is indeed a vast and multiethnic country -- the 5th largest in population in the world, rich in natural resources, and geographically bigger than the continental United States. As far as I know, kidnapping is mainly an urban problem, centered in Rio, Sao Paulo, and other major cities. Here, shantytowns (favelas) are homes to millions who move to the cities from the northern regions you mention in search of work. And much of the violence in Brazilian society is coming out of the favelas. Some 80 percent of Brazil's population now lives in cities, so it is a highly urbanized country.

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Durham, N.C.: Friends of ours are moving to Brazil's capital for three years and we hope to visit them and travel the country. As tourists, should we be concerned about being possible kidnapping victims, and what if anything can we do to avoid that fate?

Charlotte Mangin: As far as I know, tourists are not targeted per se, but there are a certain number of things you can do to stay safe and vigilant. I recommended you read the international travel warning for Brazil on the U.S. State Department's Web site about ways to protect yourselves during your trip.

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Washington, D.C.: How important is class is Brazilian society? Does it explain why there is a such a huge gap between the rich and poor or are economic factors largely driving the disparity?

Charlotte Mangin: The gap between rich and poor has deep historic roots, dating back to slavery and the way in which Brazil was settled. In a nutshell: Brazil was the last country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery (in 1888), and although there is a lot of inter-marriage between races in Brazil, discrimination remains a problem and the face of poverty in Brazil today tends to be black. In addition, when the country was first settled, large tracks of land were given to a handful of wealthy families and the rest of society worked for these landowners. These inequalities became more and more entrenched over time and to this day, many Brazilians -- be it farmers in the country-side or favela-dwellers -- do not own their land. Lula's government has a land redistribution program in the works, but there is still a long way to go.

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Hamburg, Germany: Some of these kidnappings seem very well planned. Do these kidnappers have connections with Islamic terrorists or other international groups?

Charlotte Mangin: I can only speak for Brazil, but as far as I know the kidnappers in Brazil do not have terrorist connections. They tend to be either local "freelance" kidnappers or members of organized criminal gangs -- most prominently First Capital Command (PCC) which is run out of the prisons and favelas and is currently engulfing Sao Paulo state in a wave of violence (shootings; bombings of buses, police stations, and banks; riots in the prisons). The Brazilian police have tries to crack down repeatedly on PCC but it is still thriving in the prisons and favelas.

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washingtonpost.com: U.S. State Dept/Current Travel Warnings

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West Orange, N.J.: Are there any Brazilian cities or towns with a homicide rate near the U.S. average of about 5 or 6 per 100,000? How do metropolitan SP or RJ compare overall with the Washington, D.C., murder rate of 46/100,000? Might an SP or RJ "crime map" show great concentration of deaths or kidnappings in certain zones? Is police coverage proportionate or not?

Do Brazilian jails really function as "command centers" for crime kingpins? Are the police in cahoots? What was the outcome of the recent jail riots? Are inmate cell phones ubiquitous?

Charlotte Mangin: I don't know the specific numbers for the cities you name, but can tell you that Brazil's overall murder rate is four times that of the US. Yes, prisons are "command centers" for gangs, in particular First Capital Command (PCC) which operates out of the jails. See my answer to the previous question for more information.

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Washington, D.C.: It sounds lawless down there. Is it?

Charlotte Mangin: There is one kidnapping happening every 3 days in Sao Paulo. And the murder rate in Brazil is 4 times as high as in the United States. But while crime-ridden, Brazil is not lawless. There is a highly trained police force, as seen in our film which features the courageous work of an anti-kidnapping squad. And although police corruption and brutality is widespread, there is law enforcement in place. In 2004, the government enacted a sweeping gun control law which allows gun licenses allow to police, security guards, and other people in high-risk professions over the age of 25. The government also has a buy-back program offering up to $100 for every weapon handed in. To date, some half a million guns have been collected, and the program is credited for lowering the homicide rate. In 2004 (the most recent statistics available), the murder rate fell by about 8 percent, the first drop in about 15 years. It is estimated that 17 million guns remain in circulation in Brazil, half of them unregistered.

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West Orange, N.J.: Might you be related to the Syracuse U. anthropologist, W. Mangin, who studied South American shantytowns?

Charlotte Mangin: No relation, I'm afraid.

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Lyon, France: Are these types of crimes more common, in places like Brazil, due to local corruption? Is it common for local law enforcement to actually participate?

Charlotte Mangin: The Brazilian police are known to be corrupt and use brutal tactics. In 2004 police killed close to 2000 people in Rio and Sao Paulo. Authorities claim the killings are part of military-style anti-kidnapping and drug raids, but according to Amnesty International, some of the death show evidence of execution. Amnesty reports that cases are rarely investigated, that police participate in "death squads", and that torture is widespread. The criminal justice system is in desperate need for reform. Former U.S. Ambassador to Brazil (2002-2004) Donna Hrinak, whom we interview at the end of our Wide Angle program (see our Web site for video and the full transcript of the interview) says that police often feel that if they don't deal with criminals right then and there on the street, they're worried the guy will be able to buy his way out of either the courtroom or prison.

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Washington, D.C.: I spent a few weeks in Sao Paulo in February and loved it, but was sad to think that I could never feel safe living there (as a single woman). It seemed to me that, among the middle class in Brazil, disgust with the lower classes is as acceptable as racism used to be here -- is that true, or is that not a useful comparison? Brazilians would tell me, oh, we're not like you Americans, we don't have a race problem -- but I'd think, ok, but you sure do have a class problem.

Charlotte Mangin: There is more intermarriage among races in Brazil than in the US. And racially motivated crime and violence is less common in Brazil than in the U.S. But discrimination does exist of course, between the usually richer light-skinned classes and the usually poorer dark-skinned classes. Today, Brazilians of mostly European descent make up about half of the population. People of mixed European and African heritage make up about 2/5 of the populations. There are also Asians and people of Middle Eastern descent in Brazil.

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Charlotte Mangin: I'm afraid I've run out of time. My apologies to those of you whose questions I didn't get a chance to answer. Thank you very much for your interest and keep watching Wide Angle!

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Charlotte Mangin: I should mention also that "Ransom City" will re-air this coming Friday night. Check your local PBS station for listings.

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