The leader of the Pitanga dos Palmares Quilombo and former Secretary for the Promotion of Racial Equality in Simões Filho (Bahia), Maria Bernadete Pacífico, has been murdered. Criminals allegedly invaded the community, took family members hostage and shot Mother Bernadete dead. She is the mother of Flávio Gabriel Pacífico dos Santos, better known as Binho do Quilombo, who was murdered almost six years ago, on 19 September 2017. The governor of Bahia, Jerônimo Rodrigues, has ordered the military and civil police to be firm in the investigation. For Denildo Rodrigues, from the National Coordination for the Articulation of Black Rural Quilombola Communities (Conaq), Bernadete was murdered by the same group responsible for Binho's execution. The leaders of the quilombola communities and terreiros in Simões Filho are constantly threatened by groups linked to property speculation who are interested in occupying their territories.

The Pitanga dos Palmares Quilombo, led by Bernadete, is made up of around 289 families and covers 854.2 hectares.