Motherhood as resistance to state violence

Abstract

This paper analyzes the political movement of mothers whose children were killed by military police in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, one of the most perverse effects of the favela pacification program. The mothers’ claim for justice to the Brazilian state due to their children’s deaths mobilizes motherhood as a central symbol for political engagement. Within the limits and ambivalences of motherhood the mothers catalyze a space of alliance and resistance. The violence perpetrated on their sons also affects these women whose maternal bodies become key agents in the confrontation of state violence.