Narratives about the death of councilor Marcelino Chiarello, an activist from Human Rights

Abstract

This article highlights the plots that constitute the narratives' dispute that arose the controversial death of the Councilor Marcelino Chiarello from Chapecó, in the state of Santa Catarina, which occurred in 2011. It contextualizes the character, especially from his socio-political background, based on the Catholic Church Liberation Theology. In this scenario, Chiarello is characterized as a radical leader, in the sense of “going to the root of the problems”, an activist for social causes and Human Rights. When he was in his second term, he was found hanged in his own residence, on November 28, 2011. This fact generated great controversies related to the thesis of homicide and suicide. In this sense, the research presents the homicide narrative, supported by the investigation initially adopted by the Civil Police, based on the Medical-Legal Institute’s coroner report. This thesis was opposed to that of suicide, based on a report from the General Institute of Experts and, later, on another report, produced by the Federal Police. In turn, another report produced by the Legal Medicine team at the University of São Paulo defended and resumed the thesis of homicide. The article was produced based on press articles, the speeches made by legislative of Chapecó, interviews and academic publications about the fact.