A few days after Carnival in Brazil in 2025, one of the country’s premier samba schools, Salgueiro, issued a blistering critique on Instagram of the Rio de Janeiro judges. Salgueiro is a perennial top finisher, so its fall to seventh in the annual parade hit the school hard.
“To the crooks on duty, we issue a warning: Salgueiro will not be intimidated by this gang of thieves that is trying to dest...
The strongest version of this narrative exposes the symbiotic relationship between organized crime and cultural institutions in Brazil, where *bicheiros* like Adilsinho operate as both criminals and patrons of Carnival. The article effectively traces how figures like Adilsinho leverage cultural capital to launder their reputations while maintaining control through violence and corruption. The arrest following his public challenge to Carnival’s hierarchy suggests a system that tolerates criminali...