a city of 10 million. As in many big Brazilian cities, hundreds of thousands also live in deplorable conditions in teeming slums. This time, a 40-year-old woman without documents was found dead and three vagrants, including another woman, injured. All victims were beaten on the head, probably with a mallet. "The wounds are very serious," Mariano said. Police say the killings might have been ordered by businessmen irritated by the presence of tramps or be the work of a group with a grievance against homeless people. About 45,000 Brazilians are murdered each year, or one person every 12 minutes, the highest number of any country, according to the World Health Organization. Police are badly paid and overworked, and disgruntled citizens have been known to turn to vigilantes to take care of problems. An Amnesty International report in May said death squads operated in many Brazilian states, targeting criminals and also carrying out "social cleansing."
