Maninstream media says:
Gang offensive brings Sao Paulo to a standstill
Sao Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. It hardly seems like a “gang” in any normal sense of the word would be capable of disrupting a city of millions. This is something much bigger.
The scale, intensity, duration, and the coordination demonstrated by these attacks shows that this gang has made the transition from evading the police to treating the police (the nation-state) as a competitive threat. It also has set what could be construed as a plausible promise that could be used to recruit allies: that Sao Paulo’s government can be attacked successfully.
Poverty there is so pronounced, the article goes on to say, that gangs could well recruit new members from the Sao Paulo favela, where 10 million live without basic services. Yes, 10 million.