Brazil Police
(Photo : Reuters/Paulo Whitaker)
Violent crime has seen a continuous rise in Brazil's northeastern state of Ceara amid military police strike.

Authorities in Brazil said the state had recorded 147 homicides in the state of Ceara in the first five days of a military police strike.

Despite the deployment of the army to patrol the street, the murders have seen a fivefold increase from the same five-day period last year. 

The increasing violence has led to the cancellation of carnival festivities in several cities.

"There are signs that some violent crimes have been increasing, but it's not a situation of total disorder in the streets," federal Justice Minister Sergio Moro said. 

The police began their strike on February 18, which comes during Brazil's annual Carnival. Nine cities in Ceara canceled celebrations due to security concerns. 

Two federal Cabinet members and Justice Minister Sergio Moro met with Ceara's governor Monday to oversee security operations. 

Over 2,500 soldier was deployed by the federal government to maintain order.

The police strike comes with demands on a pay increase for law enforcement workers. Protesters slashed at police vehicle tires and forced stores to close. 

A senator was shot and hospitalized while trying to drive a backhoe through a protest. The 56-year-old Brazilian Senator Cid Gomes was hit by two rubber bullets during the stand-off in Ceara's town of Sobral.

A video of the incident showed Gomes driving a digger at the mental fence and lifting it up with the digger's arm while the protesting policemen gathered behind it shouted. 

Several shots ran out. The windscreen and one of the windows of the digger shattered.

Photos that were taken after the incident showed the senator's shirt with a large bloodstain while he was being helped away. 

Members of the military police have been demanding better pay since late last year. They said they are being paid less than other military officers working elsewhere.

Officers barred the entrance to a military police station in town as part of their protest. This has made it impossible for members of the force who did not join the strike to work.

Senator Gomes' brother, Ciro Gomes, has since expressed his "hope that the responsible authorities catch those who attempted this barbarous homicide." He also said that he and his brother would not let the state be governed "by militias."

Law enforcement officers are banned from going on strike under Brazilian law. Civic workers who "provide essential services to society" are also prohibited from joining protests or strikes. 

Last week, a court in Ceara said that those defying the ban could face time in prison.

An estimated 200 protesting police officers have been suspended in recent days. 

President Jair Bolsanaro has remained tight-lipped about the police strike despite being elected on a law-and-order campaign.

Local governments are worried about the strikes spreading to other states. Many of these states are struggling financially and paying civil servants late or incomplete salaries.

Lawmaker Guilherme da Cunha of the state of Minas Gerais said, "Of course, police strikes could spread. From the moment people who have a monopoly on firearms discover the strength it has, there is a risk."