Paulo Melo, a crusading politician in Rio, knows all about the problems of street children. He used to be one.

They say politics is not a dirty game - it is just that some of the players have dirty hands.

If Brazil needs one thing, it is politicians with clean hands. 166 million people are living in extreme contrast: from the platinum-plated citizens in $5 million apartments to the drug controlled communities in the famished favelas.

Make no mistake; corruption is endemic and is a central cause of this inequality. Despite this, at least one politician has bucked the trend. A quick glance at Deputy Paulo Melo’s record and you understand why he is one of the most respected politicians of his generation.


Paulo Melo and David AltonBorn into a family of eleven brothers in the humble surroundings of the town of Saquarema, Paulo Melo’s childhood was defined by a struggle against poverty. His first job at the age of five was to sell sweets on the streets that his mother used to cook in order to support the family. At the age of eleven, he left home for Rio de Janeiro in search of a better life. With no money, he lived in the streets until he settled at a hostel, which took him in.

Illiterate until he  as 17, on the surface  Paulo Melo’s life had nothing to indicate the path that lay ahead. But he had one quality in abundance;  a determination to overcome life’s challenges and to conquer new frontiers. In 1990 with only a primary school education under his belt, Melo was elected with an 8,645 majority, to Rio’s legislative Assembly. His manifesto: ‘to fight to reverse unjust situations and to win’.

In his first term of office, he declared that it was his intention to act on behalf of the worries, needs and dreams of ordinary people. He started with Brazil’s children. In the early 1990’s, 40 unidentified bodies (many of whom were children) were being buried every day in Rio alone. As the President of the Institute against the extermination of children and youth prostitutes, Melo set himself on a collision course with the ugly side of Rio’s under-world.

He was one of the first politicians to speak out about these indiscriminate killings at a time when the drug barons and police chiefs were imposing a virtual ‘law of silence’. For Melo to publicly denounce his own constituents was an act of genuine courage. Melo gained a reputation as a fearless campaigner who would not be intimidated despite receiving threats on his life and having to wear a bullet proof vest to protect  imself from the mafia groups whose livelihood he threatened.

Jubilee worked with Melo to expose the police’s role in the systematic killing of street children back in the 1990’s. As a foreign human rights group, it lent much needed credibility to our campaign to have the backing of a Brazilian parliamentarian.

During our investigative trip to Brazil last month, Melo was a refreshing inspiration. Squeezed in between demoralising meetings with indifferent politicians, it was a relief to meet Melo who greeted us like long-lost friends the moment we stepped foot in his office.

Unlike many, Melo’s visionary commitment to social justice has continued unabated. ‘A lot of NGOs took advantage of the publicity that surrounding the killing of street children to gain financial support.When the spot light left Brazil and the money dried up - many  gave up only the idealists continued.’ he told me. This was never an option for Melo. ‘While 72% of Brazil’s children do not have access to any tutelage, they have no protection from the lure of the drugs trade. Until we change the shape of this problem, my quest continues’.

Perhaps because Rio’s drug traffickers had targeted his own son - this had become personal. ‘One day, I saw my 18-year-old son taking weapons out of his car. I discovered that he was working with the traffickers in the slums’. Melo tried to help his son withdraw from this criminal circle but in the end the authorities stepped in and exiled him to another part of Brazil. Three times the traffickers came back to find him - before finally his son found the courage of his father - and turned his back on the drug trade.

After four successive terms elected to Rio de Janeiro’s State Legislature, Melo has become one of the most experienced of Rio’s politicians - acting as a guardian over Rio’s legislative powers. His record includes facilitating the provision of water, electricity, the building of street pavements and waste recycling plants and attracting investment of around $40 million to re-generate urban areas.

Melo’s most recent fight for justice was a high profile anti-corruption case that he led in Rio to expose the embezzlement of $33 million by fraudulent civil servants. As president of the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry), Melo’s investigation was able to reclaim R$500 million - to give back to the people of Rio. His campaign didn't stop until the 22 state auditors who co-ordinated the elaborate plan to divert state funds to their private Swiss bank accounts had been sent to jail. Melo’s life demonstrates that it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Anyone looking for a cure for political cynicism should meet Paulo Melo. He is a man who can make you well.