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Youth and Violence in Brazil: The Reality behind the Rates

Cléssio Moura de Souza

Ph.D. Project

In 2010 the government of Rio de Janeiro city began an ambitious mission: to expel the drug gangs from the “Favelas” in order to restore order and control in these areas by installing Pacification Police Units (UPPs).

Studies carried out by the Sangari Institute to analyze cases of homicide registered in the Brazilian Information System of Mortality, show two important conclusions which may help to better understand violence in Brazil. First, young people play an important role in the increase of violence, and second, violence is migrating to small and medium cities in Brazil. In the past, violence leading to death among young people was related to large, overcrowded, slum areas of cities; today it has become one of the main problems of small towns.

According to the Sangari Institute, homicide rates among youths between 15 and 24 years old have almost doubled. In 1980 the rate was 30.0 per 100,000 inhabitants; in 2007 it had grown to 50.1. According to the World Health Organization, Brazil now has the 6th highest youth homicide rate in the world.

The reasons behind this homicide rate are many: for example, youths are murdered due to confrontations between police and drug dealers, or killed fighting against security forces; war between gangs in order to gain new drug dealing territory also plays a role, as do fights against rival “facção” who encroach on occupied territory; being indebted to drug dealers is also as problem, as is the fact that some youths use violence as a way to steal from people or as a retaliatory measure against inequality. Furthermore, in big cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, there is a new group called the “Milícia”, usually composed of corrupt police officers or former officers who extort money from drug dealers or demand money to protect them and ordinary citizens living in dangerous areas. If they do not pay for this protection, they may be murdered as a form of punishment. In any case, youths are the largest group of victims in this context. Some of them have chosen or were motivated to become criminals; others are merely victims of violence.

Some cities are experiencing rapid industrial growth, which in turn is attracting an influx of workers, including a substantial amount of young people. The population increase also attracts drug dealers. As the number of would-be workers arriving in the cities often exceeds the available work opportunities, a vast number of unemployed persons are vulnerable to be used to traffic drugs. Usually recruits enter the drugs business at the lowest level and over time become more involved; this could be because they become dependent on drugs or because they wish to be more powerful and wealthy. One way they can achieve this power is by using violence as a tool.

The analysis of the particularities of violence, especially in the perception of youths, and the role that violence plays for them, i.e., in the context of gangs, is the central subject of this research. Furthermore, it is important to investigate in which situation(s) violence is considered as an instrument for retaliation and punishment and how the possibility of killing or being killed motivates or demotivates them to carry on their criminal careers. Another point of this research is to discover how big cities have managed to control violent areas and why other cities are becoming more violent. The fieldwork for this research will concentrate on Rio de Janeiro city and Maceió (153rd and 1st positions on the Sangari Institute’s ranking respectively). A further step will analyze the relationships between state, law, and youth violence. The research methodology is based on observations and the collection of information during interviews with youths, parents, community members, and other persons who are involved with these young people.

Publications

(selection)
  1. Moura de Souza, Cléssio. Straftaten Jugendlicher in Brasilien. Monatsschrift für Kriminologie und Strafrechtsreform. 93. Jahrgang, Heft 3 (Juni) 2010, S. 230 - 242.
  2. Moura de Souza, Cléssio. Teenagers, Violence and Crime in Brazil. Freedom from Fear Magazine. Issue 8, Dez. 2010 (online journal).
  3. Moura de Souza, Cléssio. El “Ato Infracional” en Brasil. In: Anuario de Justicia de Menores. Astigi, 2009, Issue/Volume IX, p. 273 - 292.

Curriculum vitae

Since October 2011 PhD Candidate of the International Max Planck Research School on Retaliation, Mediation and Punishment (IMPRS REMEP) at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg i.Br., Germany
2010 – 2011 Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg i.Br., Germany / Department of Criminology
2007 – 2011 Master of Laws (LL.M.), University of Freiburg
February 2007 Certification of License in the examinations of the Order, Order of Lawyers of Brazil, Sectional of the State of Rio de Janeiro
2001 – 2006 Bachelor in Law, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
2004 – 2005 Researcher at the Rio de Janeiro State University, Law School, Center for Research on Children's and Adolescents' Rights