Brazil: Ballot on Bullets (vote to ban guns in gun crime capital)
45 minutes, 2005
Ref: 457

More people were shot dead in Brazil last year than any other country in the world - including Iraq. It's a country riven with gun crime, mostly because of drugs and poverty. But a proposal to ban the sale of guns in Brazil has been defeated by a clear majority in a referendum. Sixty-four percent of those who voted rejected the proposed ban, which was backed by the government, the Catholic Church and the United Nations. The gun ownership lobby successfully argued that guns were needed for personal security. It’s the first time in the world that voters have been given the chance to ban gun sales. Guns kill one person in Brazil every 15 minutes, giving it the world's highest death toll from firearms. Last year, there were 36,000 shooting deaths. The UN says guns are the biggest cause of death among young people in Brazil. The immediate consequence of the referendum is that gun shops will remain open. Our reporters visit some of Rio’s most dangerous shantytowns, where shoot-outs between drug gangs and police are common. The program also shows the daily round of treating gunshot victims in the emergency rooms of local hospitals. They are a great hit with foreign doctors from war-torn countries. Here, they get to learn battle surgery techniques on the front line. Our cameras also accompanied Rio’s military police on their patrols. This corruption-ridden police force is notorious for shooting first and asking questions later. One of its “death squads” recently slew 29 people in just one district in one night. Many of the victims’ relatives interviewed on the program have received death threats. “30 Minuts” also looks at where the guns come from. Many are made in Brazil but there is also a lively trade in imported guns. Brazil has complained that the Spanish government licenses arms exports without worrying where the guns end up. The report follows the trail of “The Spanish Connection” to discover the shocking truth.