The expansion of militias in Brazil


Giovane Batista, Get Beyond Learning

There is a new configuration of territorial control of clandestine groups in Rio de Janeiro, the militias. In this abstract, I highlight the factors that led to the multiplication of militia dominance, especially the use of tools such as creating the violence map to define effective strategies for public security in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Researchers in the area have been guided by the concept of effective public policies to tackle the problem and make a diagnosis based on data and evidence. I highlight that it is essential to strengthen democratic control of police activity, that is, to provide greater transparency and accountability for what is done in this area, which is very marked by opacity. At the same time, methodological and theoretical challenges must be faced. The sociological crime category has many theoretical classifications: strategic, interactive, symmetrical, asymmetrical, homogeneous, and heterogeneous criminality. Review of data analysis, Brazilian and international sociological literature, studying the political dimension of the problem and carrying out comparative studies between the cases of Colombia and the United States and the importance of ethnographic studies become fundamental for an accurate sociological assessment of the problem. I intend to identify the factors that led to the structuring of militias from the 2000s onwards. The two largest groups were the emergence of the Comando Vermelho in the 1970s, amid the military dictatorship, and the TCP (Third et al.) in the 1990s. Furthermore, how the militias managed to impose themselves as the hegemonic group in Rio in recent decades, reconfiguring the relations between armed groups. I intend to demonstrate that the militias were structured in two distinct periods. In the second half of the 2000s, the first was its economic practices, the presence of public authorities who participated directly or indirectly and the integration of the militia with neo-Pentecostal religious groups in the citys favelas. Starting in 2017, we have a second period of expansion of militia groups, and I intend to discuss the main factors that contributed to this growth. Rio de Janeiros economy, in decline from 2015 onwards, stopped paying police officers salaries and left the institutions responsible for public security in crisis. The solution applied was the worst possible: military intervention. The operations were uncoordinated and very violent towards the civilian population and did not prove to be effective in confronting the militia. In conclusion, assessing the impact of militias on Brazilian daily life is a complex issue because it involves analyzing not only public security but also a real threat to national institutions and the routine life of the population.

This paper will be presented at the following session: