Unarmed and dangerous

A CURB on masks is an odd thing for Brazilians to be contemplating just days before Carnival gets cracking. The justice minister, José Eduardo Cardozo, insists that the prop, as integral a part of the festival as scantily clad sambistas, will not vanish from Carnival parades or other “cultural, historical and folkloric events”. But a bill he is about to send to Congress aims to restrict the use of masks in political protests.

Faceless protesters have been stirring up trouble sporadically since huge nationwide demonstrations, sparked by a proposed rise in bus fares, erupted last June. In February a television cameraman covering a protest in Rio de Janeiro died after being struck by a firework set off by two “Black Blocs”, members of an anarchist group. One militant recently told Estado de São Paulo, a newspaper, that the group is ready to shower national football squads’ buses and hotels with Molotov cocktails during the World Cup, which Brazil will host in June and July.