Globoplay and Canal Brasil exhibit “Lei da Selva”, a documentary series about the animal game

One of the most popular practices in Brazil, the animal game, won a documentary series entitled “Lei da Selva – A História do Jogo do Bicho”, by Pedro Asbegwhich shows that the practice is closely linked to organized crime, helping to finance drug trafficking, militia and corruption.

Divided into four episodes, Kromaki’s production is being shown every Friday at 10:30 pm on Canal Brasil and available on streaming Globo and Globoplay Channels + Live Channels.

with narration by Marcelo Adnet“Lei da Selva – A História do Jogo do Bicho” is directed by Pedro Asbeg and has shares of Marcelo Freixo, Luiz Antonio Simas, Antonio Carlos Biscaia, Milton Cunha, taina de paulaamong others.

Created in 1892, by Baron João Batista Viana Drummond, to prevent the closing of the Rio de Janeiro Zoo, in Vila Isabel, the animal game was a raffle of bets on numbers representing animals. One hundred and thirty years later, it turned into a criminal empire, which moves billions.

“It was wonderful to participate in this project because telling this story of Barão de Drummond until the troubled days of today is telling the trajectory of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and my story. I was born here in the 80’s, I’m passionate about samba and someone who lives the contradictions of the city“, says Marcelo Adnetwho is also an expert on the subject, the subject of his monograph when he graduated in Journalism at PUC-Rio.

the federal deputy Marcelo Freixothe historian Luiz Antonio Simasthe former Attorney General of Justice of Rio de Janeiro, Antonio Carlos Biscaiaand the carnival Milton Cunha are some of those interviewed.

the journalists Cecília Olliveira, Octavio Guedes, Leandro DemoriThe lawyer Simone Sibilio and the urban planner and councilor taina de paula also help to offer a broad overview of the topic, as well as the researcher Bruno Paes Mansoauthor of the book “A República das Milícias: From the death squads to the Bolsonaro era”, one of the research bases for the series.

“Understanding the animal game is necessary for anyone who wants to understand how we got here, in this tangle of violence with which we live in Rio. The animal, which was once innocent, has long been linked to murder, extortion, money laundering and directly linked to the growth of the militia. It can even be said that the animal and the militia are partners”, says the director Pedro Asbeg.

“My interest in the subject began when I understood that it was not only linked to a series of criminal cases with which we have lived in Rio for decades, but also due to the very relationship it has with the city. In these 130 years of play, the city and the animal have grown and transformed together.”.

In the 1890s, the Barão raffle became popular, became ingrained in the popular culture of Rio de Janeiro and 130 years later survives on the city’s street corners. In the series, some of the best-known names in the animal and misdemeanor universe appear in focus, such as Andrade beaver, Captain Guimarães, Anísio Abrahão David, Ronnie Lessa, Captain Adriano da Nobregaamong others.

Synopsis:

“Lei da Selva” is a four-episode documentary series that shows how the lottery created to finance a zoo in Rio was incorporated into popular culture and, in the hands of criminals organized along the lines of the Italian mafia, turned into an immense empire of crime, moving billions and leaving a thick trail of blood and corruption that ends up in the carioca militia. Watch the trailer: