Manda quem pode, obedece quem tem juizo

That's a kind of mantra in some of the lawless places here, which basically means "who has the power commands, and you must obey their judgements." That's a bad translation but it sounds really ominous in Portuguese and I can't get that across in English.

Things are calmer on the streets, with the army and the police now occupying some of the biggest favelas here. Even then, they are worried it might all have been too simple and there are traps lying in wait.

The TV coverage is sensational. Everything the police get access to we seem to get access to as well, so that we got to see the arrest of the traficante Elizeu Felício de Souza, with a bizarre scene on TV where he was stood with his back against a car, almost patiently being filmed, accepting that TV coverage was part of the arrest experience. I'm not sure contempt of court is a big issue here.

Now they are having to sort out things like the electricity supply and mountains of litter in the Complexo de Alemao. Some of it is public services which have been absent in the previous week due to the trouble, some are services which have never existed there. That seems essential since if you're going to go into a community and shoot some of the people you probably need to improve their lives in some way. Permanently, the army and the elite squad can't stay there, so the government will have to start providing the structure that previously the criminals had done.

It's still quiet on the streets, and not many people were out in Santa Teresa last night which is usually the busiest night. I finally had fejoada in Mineiro which never happened before as I couldn't get near it, it's always so busy there. Most people are afraid, but they are also aware that nothing like this has really happened before. A previous attempt by the police to invade favelas ended in their retreat, and friends told me last night the violence escalated then so that cars were set on fire with people still actually in them. I get the feeling the police are still pretty angry that a helicopter was shot down over Alemao in October last year as well.

I'm not sure how much trust people have in the authorities, but I really hope the end result is an improvement in the lives of ordinary people living there. Not just having to obey those people who have guns and violence at their disposal.