favela crime youth
3. CASE STUDY: FAVELAS AND YOUTH GANGS’ MEMBERS
3.1. Introduction
Although Brazil is increasingly recognised as a global power, – being listed as the sixth largest economy in the world (The Guardian, 2011) – extreme social and economic inequalities persist in its society. The response of the Brazilian state to urban marginality is based on an unbalanced distribution of wealth and the symbolic devaluation of stigmatised groups, such as residents of the favelas (Lannes, 2013). The increment of socio-spatial inequalities and the creation of physical and symbolical barriers that increase urban fragmentation can be observed (Marcuse, 1997a, 1997b; Caldeira, 1996, 2002; Souza, 2000, 2008). In Rio de Janeiro, a mega city with a population of around 12 million, there are more than 750 Favelas – slum districts- composed by 20% of the city population.
3.2. Causes Social exclusion and a rapid growth of the Favelas during 1940s contributed to crime and drug trafficking spread, providing a perfect refuge for criminal gangs. Nowadays, youngsters involved in drug gangs are widely labelled as criminal or dangerous, furthermore, most of their individual histories and life difficulties as well as the social processes that led to their situation are hidden as part of a systematic process of criminalisation. Such images are part of a historical process of socio-spatial control and enclosure of those groups considered undesirable. Placed in a social shade, these youngsters are subtly considered a ‘lost generation’ by the media and most reactionary groups. The engagement of youngsters in drug gangs in Brazil reflects the relation between the rise of new forms of social marginality and a gap in social security for the poor youth (Fernandes, 2009). Fernandes (2009) goes on to argue further causes of this engagement such as the incapacity of public institutions (such as schools) to promote social capital and self-esteem… as well as the rise of neoliberal policies which have
3.1. Introduction
Although Brazil is increasingly recognised as a global power, – being listed as the sixth largest economy in the world (The Guardian, 2011) – extreme social and economic inequalities persist in its society. The response of the Brazilian state to urban marginality is based on an unbalanced distribution of wealth and the symbolic devaluation of stigmatised groups, such as residents of the favelas (Lannes, 2013). The increment of socio-spatial inequalities and the creation of physical and symbolical barriers that increase urban fragmentation can be observed (Marcuse, 1997a, 1997b; Caldeira, 1996, 2002; Souza, 2000, 2008). In Rio de Janeiro, a mega city with a population of around 12 million, there are more than 750 Favelas – slum districts- composed by 20% of the city population.
3.2. Causes Social exclusion and a rapid growth of the Favelas during 1940s contributed to crime and drug trafficking spread, providing a perfect refuge for criminal gangs. Nowadays, youngsters involved in drug gangs are widely labelled as criminal or dangerous, furthermore, most of their individual histories and life difficulties as well as the social processes that led to their situation are hidden as part of a systematic process of criminalisation. Such images are part of a historical process of socio-spatial control and enclosure of those groups considered undesirable. Placed in a social shade, these youngsters are subtly considered a ‘lost generation’ by the media and most reactionary groups. The engagement of youngsters in drug gangs in Brazil reflects the relation between the rise of new forms of social marginality and a gap in social security for the poor youth (Fernandes, 2009). Fernandes (2009) goes on to argue further causes of this engagement such as the incapacity of public institutions (such as schools) to promote social capital and self-esteem… as well as the rise of neoliberal policies which have