In recent years, a series of protests and social movements has exploded onto the streets, spreading throughout the world.

Articulated via social networks, they have toppled presidents and dictators, called the political map of the Middle East into question, defied the economic system in its own backyard, and shaken even popular governments. Above all, they have confronted the state, political parties and large corporations with a single, clear message: you do not represent us.

In their current configurations, institutions have not been able – and nor will they be able in the future – to deal with this hyper-connected generation. Young people no longer accept the official version of things. Instead of purely voting or being passive listeners, they have opinions, they debate and participate, and consequently, they create their own truths. They vibrate with the need to take part.

This dialog, repressed until now, is about to become a sea of people.

— Welcome to 2013.

World Social Forum, Tunisia — 28 March

The world’s largest gathering of activists saw five days of public conspiracies and independent coverage. Texts, photos, interviews, daily broadcasts on PósTV, and most importantly, the beginning of a collective process of construction of an international network of independent journalism.

Crime pays, Marabá — 4 April

The trial of one of the most emblematic cases in the struggle for social and environmental rights – the murders of Zé Cláudio, a campaigner against illegal logging and deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, and his wife Maria – took place at the start of the year in Marabá, in the state of Pará. Mídia Ninja was on the ground providing live coverage of the verdict that absolved the crime’s supposed mastermind, perpetuating a practice of impunity already seen in a series of other crimes against militants and social movements in Brazil’s vast interior. We covered the three-day trial and took part in countless hours of conversation and debate with activists, relatives of the couple, and everyone involved in the Missão Marabala plot. Find the full story here.

Preludes, Porto Alegre — 4 April

In an early signal of what would become the trigger for the largest mass mobilizations seen in Brazil in the last two decades, Porto Alegre took a stand as early as April against a rise in bus fares that took the price of a ticket to more than R$3.

Around 8,000 people took to the streets across the city, winning their demand for the fare’s reduction and fueling similar movements in the cities of Goiânia and São Paulo in the following months. Find out more.

The World Cup without dendê, Salvador — 5 April

Following the announcement that during the World Cup, the sale of acarajé (black-eyed-pea patties fried in dendê palm oil) would be prohibited near the Fonte Nova stadium in Salvador, in the state of Bahia, Bahian women took to the streets to protest against FIFA and its arbitrary ruling over such a deeply traditional matter. The protestors submitted a document to President Dilma’s aide, demanding that the World Cup’s doors be opened to the acarajé sellers.

Political kisses, public acts

On arrival in Belém, the evangelical pastor Marco Feliciano was given a very special welcome: a lesbian kiss during the service.

Meanwhile in São Paulo, a celebrity kiss closed the first ever Special Commission on Human Rights, presided over by cartoonist Laerte Coutinho with the participation of Congressman Jean Wyllys.

These kisses don’t only represent the LGBT cause: they also crystallize the struggle for human rights in general in Brazil, on issues ranging from police demilitarization and the genocide of black youth to the legalization of marijuana and the decriminalization of abortion.

World Cup errors — 27 May

Together with Agência Pública, we created an interactive infographic that exposes the violation of human rights and damage the World Cup is causing in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The project is the result of studies carried out in the areas of housing, sports and finance, including data on the size of the investments and the companies involved. Click here for the infographic.

From Gezi to the world, Turkey — 1 June

We went to Turkey to witness more than a million people occupying its streets and public squares at first-hand. Following a protest against the cutting down of trees in one of Istanbul’s last green areas in order to build a shopping mall on Taksim Square, protestors occupied the area with an encampment, blocking the building’s construction. The protest grew and become a wider movement of civil society against the current government under the Islamic Justice and Development Party, which controls the courts, the parliament, the police, and the press.

Getting naked. Political power bowed down down before the streets, changing its approach and discourse completely in response to the desires bringing millions together in an instant, via the social networks. Hundreds of mayors revoked the rise in bus fares, and the President herself, Dilma Rousseff, in a rare U-turn on the part of the political Left establishment, made an unprecedented announcement on national TV acknowledging the legitimacy of the street movements, and announcing the prospect of a referendum on political reform.

With the exception of this brief interlude, however, power preferred to manifest itself via other means: gas, bombs, and blows.

The repression, which sparked fierce debate about the demilitarization of the military police on social networks, was also one of the catalysts for the events of this long and intense month. If on the streets it was the military police that did the beatings, in the battle for hearts and minds, the old-guard media was working all-out to confound and co-opt the masses. And they were successful, in part. When the established media switched to supporting the protests, the more conservative sectors of society took to the streets with the conquering swagger they have perfected over centuries. From the Passe Livre movement for free fares to the black blocs, we were live, capturing the events as they unfolded …

The War of Memes, São Paulo — 18 June

“On the corner of Paulista and Consolação, a Coca Cola display sat undisturbed, celebrating the imminent Confederations Cup. Spelled out in soda cans, ‘Let’s color Brazil,’ bragged the slogan. Someone had an idea: ‘Shall we set it on fire?’” — Bruno Torturra

Through the small, 400-pixel window of the Japanese twitcast server, more than 50,000 people watched the final sequence: the display in flames, the arrival of the military police, the arguing with unidentified police officers. Following that live broadcast, the video clocked up more than 100,000 views.

Violence, a state monopoly?

“The Black Blocs, but also all those who suffer power’s effects physically — black youth from the favelas, the homeless, and now activists and independent journalists — put forward in a very explicit way a question that is decisive for all of us: that of the monopoly of violence by the state. And every political cause there implied, from an end to deaths in the favelas to the total demilitarization of police and the neutralization of the deathly power of that institution.” — Ivana Bentes

Police repression, intrinsic to the street protests, was a decisive factor in the growth of the movement, which went from a specific demand — a 20-cent decrease in bus fares — to a broader debate on human rights, participation, and new political processes.

Red tide — 20 June

“Every inch of space was in dispute, with the old school pitted against the newly awakened. Flags were snatched away, torn and burnt for the right to refuse to tolerate the other. Black, homeless and landless movements as well as left-wing parties saw at close quarters the power of a ‘white democracy,’ which labels, negates and persecutes difference on behalf of the common good.”

Equally violent was the struggle over colors, with the streets brusquely taken over by crowds in patriotic yellow and green, who were mostly hostile to any flag besides the Brazilian one. This group aimed, for the most part, to expel political parties and social movements from the streets. The latter, fearful of a co-option of the movement by the Right, the media, or by a civic lack of consciousness, claimed the streets as their territory. Down Avenida Paulista, against the tide, came the reaction: a bloc calling itself the “red wave.”

In no time at all, they were met with hostility, for the most part from protest virgins who thought they were witnessing a turning point: a revolutionary “Enough!” Non-partisan, generally poorly informed, euphoric, and imbued with a fresh feeling of civic purpose, they repeated the mainstream media’s favorite meme: “The giant has awoken.”

From pixels to prints Magazines, international publications, and books. NINJA distributes images from the streets of June to hundreds of platforms and media outlets around the world. All for free, under Creative Commons agreements.

The second wave of recent protests in Egypt erupted just as the dust of June in Brazil had started to settle. We didn’t have much time to think or plan, but we sent a correspondent from the Brazilian streets directly to Tahrir Square in Cairo.

The country was experiencing massive upheaval — official figures estimated that 30 million people took to the country’s streets — which ended in the ousting of elected president Mohamed Morsi by the Egyptian Army, which maintained control over most of the economy and the political decision-making processes in Egypt.

Respect and dialog between disputing groups on the streets began to deteriorate to dangerous levels. The intensification of clashes throughout the night was creating dozens of fatal injuries with every day that passed. What had started as a dispute among civilians had now taken on the form of warlike interventions from the police and army, and this was leading Egyptians to question whether they were heading for a military coup or the continuation of the revolution.

The Pope and the BOPE (Special Operations Battalions)
Rio de Janeiro — June 21

The protests, the pilgrims, the media and political disputes between Evangelical Christians and Catholics. A colossal outpouring of faith, of contradictions, of blind eyes turned, of hypocrisy. We covered the arrival of the Latin American Pope in Brazil with opinions and images that ranged far from the subservience of the press and the state, which, at this point in time, are anything but secular.

“They tried to take us off the air by detaining one, two, three NINJAS. But they don’t understand that it isn’t just one camera, one reporter … it’s a network. They can take one down, but another 1,000 will rise up to take their place.”

During the Pope’s arrival in Brazil, we were pursued by the military police. With infiltrators operating among protesters — known as P2 — and tracking our live broadcast on yet another different link, the MPs arrested two NINJAS who were broadcasting live, resulting in a commotion outside the police station by members of the public demanding the release not only of these two, but of another 10 who had been detained without explanation on the same day.

Escape from the counter-narrative

On the same night, student Bruno Teles is imprisoned for allegedly having explosives in a bag that he had never carried. He is judged and morally condemned by the news channel Journal Nacional, without the right to appeal. Good night, Brazil.

In his testimony to Mídia NINJA, Bruno, from inside the 9ªDP police station in Rio de Janeiro, calls on media activists to send videos with clips showing that he was unjustly pursued.

The material is collected, edited and distributed on social networks, and reveals police officers infiltrating and provoking the commotion that sent the protest out of control. Bruno who was already in Bangu prison, has his writ of habeas corpus accepted and is released.

“Contrary to what had been reported in various statements by the military and civil police, Bruno Ferreira Teles was not carrying explosives at the time of his arrest” — William Bonner, on the Journal Nacional news program.

Blasphemy, Rio de Janeiro — June 28

It was nearly dawn when they arrived. Euphoric, fired up and soaked in sweat. Those who saw them would surely have imagined them to be just like any other young women, unaware of their secularity. “Sanctity at least offers this privilege,” says Teresa de Ávila, adjusting the yellow velvet dress she wears when she encounters authority figures in search of her political and philosophical advice. Vain? No, just aware of her beauty and intellect.

Read the essay in full.

Read our special report on Brazil’s occupations

Amarildo’s children, Rio de Janeiro — 30 June

The case of Amarildo de Souza, a 43-year-old builder and Rocinha resident, came into focus at a national level due to the lack of a rapid and concrete response from the state government regarding his disappearance.

He was arrested and taken to a Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) inside the favela on 14 July, during a military police operation. His family never saw him again.

This case represents a landmark in the relationship between Brazilian society and human rights. Amarildo went on to feature in the lyrics of funk carioca songs, and his disappearance strengthened the debate about the demilitarization of the military police, the end of violence in the favelas, and the genocide of the black and poor.

Roda Viva, São Paulo — 5 August

Under discussion: the crisis in commercial media and the rise of a new journalism, articulated through independent activist networks. “Silence,” calls the director. “Roda Viva is on air in 10, 9, 8 …”

“Journalism is no longer being held hostage by the same old group of cronies. Today, it’s in the hands of those who believe in reinvention.” — Revista Fórum

“By stating, unabashedly, that Mídia Ninja is engaged in a progressive, inclusive ‘leftist’ project, the two respondents have dispersed the smoke that surrounded the false impartiality of the press.” — Observatório de Imprensa

“Using social networks as a platform, Ninja has broken news on police infiltrators and wrongful arrests — forcing the mainstream media into sheepish follow-ups.” — The Guardian

“The Mídia NINJA appearance on Roda Viva underlines the distance between the old media and the new reality.” — Jornalismo B

Globo in the shit — 31 August

During the protest, protesters threw human feces and removed the Rede Globo logo from the broadcaster’s head office in São Paulo (SP). The democratization of the means of communication and the struggle over the Civil Rights Framework for Internet in Brazil (Marco Civil da Internet) became central issues following the events of June. Access the original post.

State of fury — 7 September

In one of the most explosive episodes since the start of the protests in June, 7 September saw the black bloc take a central role in a story involving police abuses, arbitrary imprisonment, and the systematic repression of the population by the state.

… because I wanted to

The arbitrary nature of the police action was crystallized in the unfortunate words of Captain Bruno, of Brasília’s Shock Battalion (Batalhão de Choque). His words, “Because I wanted to” become an infamous catch-phrase about the abuse of power.

“The Syrian people themselves, who spontaneously and autonomously sparked the revolt and who have been actively participating in the struggle for more than two years, are increasingly involved in a game of ideologies and political maneuvers in which their destinies, their diversity and their specific choices seem to count for very little.”

— text: Outras Palavras

Cuba in Brazil, Belém — 14 September

On 14 September, Belém Air Base received the largest contingent yet of foreign doctors as part of the Mais Médicos (More Doctors) program. In all, a total of 63 Cubans arrived — 46 women and 16 men. The program, widely criticized by the more conservative sectors of society and hence by the mainstream media, received a warm welcome from low-income populations and residents of Brazil’s countryside.

Indigenous Parliament, Brasília
— 3 October

National Indigenous Mobilization Week, coordinated by tribes and native peoples from across Brazil, brought together 1,500 indigenous people, who set up camp in front of Congress. The aim was to apply pressure to the government against PEC 215 and PLP 227 — laws defended by large-scale farmers and the representatives of mining company interests. Read more.

“The ancients have already warred so much. I think it’s in peace that the relationship of Indians with white men should take place” — Chief Raoni

Dictatorship 2.0, Rio de Janeiro — 16 October

In deciding to use Law 12.850/13 against protesters, dealing as it does with the definition of what constitutes a criminal organization, authorities in Rio de Janeiro show their inclination towards establishing a state of exception.

– Read more.

A shopping center for whites and the rich, João Pessoa
— 23 October

Faced with a protest against the prejudice shown by Tambiá Shopping Center in João Pessoa, the establishment closes its doors an hour before the party begins. The tradition of the ‘rolezinho’, which has always been part of the history of resistance of the Brazilian people, was already showing its strength. Access the post.

One of the most striking aspects of the history of Brazilian mining is the human anthill established at Serra Pelada, which we published in the form of a 1981 color photo essay by Rudi Böhm.

“In the late-1970s in the small town of Curionópolis, in the state of Pará, a cowboy finds a gold nugget. The news spreads like wildfire through the region, and so begins the hunt for El Dorado. More than 80,000 men with dizzyingly high expectations arrive at Serra Pelada from all over the country. Thus begins the story of the largest gold mine on the planet.”

Farewell Pacaembu, São Paulo — 19 November

Just as with Rio de Janeiro’s historic Maracanã stadium, it may be the turn of São Paulo’s Pacaembu stadium to fall into the hands of some big company. Read the full story.

The feast of the young girl, Pará — 30 November

In November, the village of Itaputyr, in the Amazon region, held the feast of the young girl. NINJA was invited to document and help preserve the group’s cultural heritage in image, text and audio.

The Marco Civil set of principles for the internet under debate, Brasília — 3 December

The “Marco Civil da internet” is an innovative Brazilian initiative that has sometimes been called a “constitution for the internet”.

The project, created via a collaborative online process with the free and open participation of several movements, cyberactivists, intellectuals and institutions, seeks to protect the internet as a free and distributed network.

At the 5th Fora do Eixo Congress in Brasília, activists mobilized to pressure for the bill’s voting.

— Original post.

Uruguay’s law is innovative in several respects; and yet it is inspired by premises that are well-known and quite obvious to those who have studied the matter: marijuana is the most frequently consumed illegal drug on the planet, used by 80 percent of the approximately 200 million users of illegal substances.

Our “hermanos” (brothers) are showing that there can be no solution to problems of this order, of a national scale, without a little bravery.

A round of applause, Uruguay: finally, the plant is free. — Read more

Tenharim to the end — December 27

“I burn your house down. I make your family disappear, believing you made mine disappear. I steal your freedom. I use fear. That’s my greatest triumph. I abuse. I isolate children. I don’t spare the elderly. I sow discord, and I fake emotions. I evoke hatred and I have the entire system on my side. I fertilize the land with body parts,
and I plant paper bank notes.”

Surrounded by indigenous reservations, the south of Amazonas state has been suffering the effects of speculation on the parts of large landowners since construction of the Transamazônica highway began, during Brazil’s military regime (1964-85).