Marcelo Aloizio de Arruda was a city guard of 28 years, director of the Foz City Employees Union, and treasurer of the Workers' Party in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná. Raised in the Bancários favela, he had earlier worked as a shoeshine boy before graduating in Biology in 2003 and later running for vice-mayor in 2020. On July 9, 2022, Arruda celebrated his 50th birthday at a party themed after the Workers' Party and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, held at the Itaipu Physical Security Sports Association premises.
Jorge José da Rocha Guaranho, a federal prison police officer since 2010 who described himself online as a Bolsonaro supporter, learned of the party's location via CCTV footage accessed by a club director. According to security camera footage, Guaranho drove near the party around 11:40 pm playing a pro-Bolsonaro song; a confrontation with Arruda escalated when Arruda threw dirt at Guaranho's car and Guaranho brandished a gun, before leaving. Guaranho returned alone at 11:51 pm, ignored Arruda's wife's order to lower his weapon, and opened fire, shooting Arruda multiple times. Arruda returned fire before Guaranho was shot and fell; bystanders then kicked Guaranho as he lay on the ground. Arruda was pronounced dead at 4:25 am at Foz do Iguaçu City Hospital.
Guaranho's wife, Francielle Sales da Silva, disputed the political-motive narrative, claiming the encounter was coincidental and that her husband acted defensively; a police ballistics and video report later refuted her claim that the car had been stoned. The investigation saw an initial police chief, Iane Cardoso, replaced after criticism for calling Guaranho a "victim" and for social media posts against the Workers' Party. Successive rulings disputed whether the killing constituted a political crime, with prosecutors and a judge ultimately affirming political motivation. Guaranho was indicted for double-qualified homicide, spent time in custody and later under contested house arrest, and was ordered in 2023 to pay child support to Arruda's children, later suspended by a federal court. A related figure, club director Claudinei Coco Esquarcini — suspected of having relayed the CCTV images to Guaranho — was found dead in Medianeira on July 17, 2022, ruled a suicide by Civil Police, with a continuing inquiry into any connection to the case.
On February 13, 2025, the Curitiba Jury Court convicted Guaranho of double-qualified homicide and sentenced him to 20 years in prison, with the presiding judge citing political intolerance as a motivating factor and ordering his immediate imprisonment; the decision remains subject to appeal.
The killing drew international coverage as symbolic of political polarization ahead of the 2022 Brazilian general election, prompting statements from Jair Bolsonaro, Lula, Workers' Party president Gleisi Hoffmann, and other political figures, as well as scrutiny from Brazil's electoral court and federal prosecutors regarding political violence and hate speech.
Credit: Family of Celeste Rivas HernandezEditorial useSourceONGOINGListen
