The Expansion of Milícias in Rio de Janeiro. Political and Economic Advantages

Hirata, Daniel Veloso; Cardoso, Adauto Lúcio; Grillo, Carolina Christoph; Santos, Orlando Alves dos; Lyra, Diogo Azevedo; Dirk, Renato Coelho

doi:10.31389/jied.140

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…In recent years, however, the definition of the category "militia" as opposed to "trafficker" has become increasingly complex, given the new relationships that both groups have established with each other and with the State itself. On this, see the works by Brama (2019), Misse (2019) and Hirata et al (2022).…”

Section: Big Fest Pagodementioning

confidence: 97%

Police Places: Ethnographic Notes About Other Police Territorialities in the Suburbs of Rio de Janeiro

Rodrigues

2023

Vibrant, Virtual Braz. Anthr.

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One of the biggest challenges in researching the practices of any police institution is finding a place from which it is possible to ethnographically observe and thus describe them, taking into account the methodological restrictions one encounters in accessing certain dimensions of police work. Faced with this problem, the present article aims to debate what I call “police places”: an analytical category used to describe other dimensions of police territoriality in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. Based on a description of a walk I took with a young man interested in joining the military police, I argue that the informal presence of agents in his neighborhood implies another type of spatial control. The article shows that, from the perspective of the population of these places, the police are understood to be an important “center of power” that attracts a series of young people involved in precarious contexts to the police career.

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Section: Big Fest Pagodementioning

confidence: 97%

Police Places: Ethnographic Notes About Other Police Territorialities in the Suburbs of Rio de Janeiro

Rodrigues

2023

Vibrant, Virtual Braz. Anthr.

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“…The expansion of militias is the key phenomenon shaping armed conflicts in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro, particularly concentrated in the municipality of Rio and the Baixada Fluminense (BF) (Hirata et al. 2022). However, as they are increasingly linked to illegal land invasions and land‐related activities like cleansing or grabbing ( grilagem ), I sense a need to analyse their activities in terms of the terrain‐shaping activities and how these are sustaining territorial control.…”

Section: Urban Political Ecology and Criminal Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are entrepreneurs with economic bases in different urban service markets, intimidating and often violently repressing local businesses and residents through protection rackets with a hierarchical gang‐like structure (Araujo and Petti 2022; Hirata et al. 2022). The most important tie of militias with formal politics is through their influence in elections, either by participating in the selection of candidates or by channelling the votes of those who live under their dominance to the most favourable candidate (JDB 2018).…”

Section: Introduction: Capitães De Areiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“Captains of the Sands”: Urban Illicit Ecologies and Sandscapes in Rio de Janeiro

Müller

2024

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Urban Political Ecology (UPE) has explored human–soil relations, emphasising the political dimensions of environmental degradation in and through urbanisation. However, UPE lacks critical reflection on governance collusions with illicit actors. Bridging this gap, my paper combines UPE with literature on criminal urban governance, focusing on how urban sand shapes illicit urbanisation. To address UPE's oversight of criminal governance, I explore Rio de Janeiro's militias expanding their illegal portfolio through terrain modification, linking illicit activities to territorial control. Integrating criminal governance with UPE, I argue for the concept of Urban Illicit Ecologies (UIE). Urban sandscapes become multi‐sited, illicit geographies revealing imbrications of formal state and criminal actors, political dimensions, and inequalities in resource extraction and environmental processes. By understanding urban illicit ecology, we gain insights into the contested claims of political authority and territorial control between militias and the state.

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“…Interestingly, however, Hirata et al (2022) shows that violent police raids occur disproportionally less in militia-controlled social housing condominiums in Rio de Janeiro. The authors suggest that such differentiated policing is due to militias' strong personal links with local politicians and police personnel, institutionalizing criminal governance structures.…”

Section: Housing and Criminal Governance In Rio De Janeiro's Peripherymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As Hirata et al (2022) demonstrates, in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, militias and drug traffickers are active within and closely around most of the social housing developments. While the data source -filed complaints by residents via a telephone hotline -does not secure 100% reliable data on the organizational structure behind the observed illicit activity and the distinction of militias from other criminal factions, the general fact of criminal organizations' presence (be it militias or factions) in these formally and state-produced spaces is alarming.…”

Section: Housing and Criminal Governance In Rio De Janeiro's Peripherymentioning

confidence: 99%

Housing Security: Placing Brazil’s Social Housing Program in a Violent Context

Müller

2022

Journal of Illicit Economies and Development

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Latin America's 'housing crisis' affects 28 million lower-income households. In many Latin American countries, governments have developed housing policies to provide access to basic standard dwelling and to offer a route towards legal tenure at an affordable cost. Yet, they have failed to address violence and crime that beneficiaries are often exposed to. I argue that housing policies must take stronger efforts in accounting for urban security. To sustain that argument, I will trace Brazil's attempts to provide a 'secure future for beneficiaries by providing equal access for all to physical and social infrastructure and basic services, as well as adequate and affordable housing' (UN Habitat 2017: 7). I refer to such policy directive as an incentive for national governments to pursue housing security. I primarily draw from academic literature on housing policies in Latin America, evaluations of Brazil's contemporary housing program, and media outlets, and use parts of my own interviews with public administrators and beneficiaries of the housing program. Designing routes towards housing security, first and foremost by reinforcing the constitutionally granted right to housing along with guaranteeing the social function of property, must be central concerns of Brazil's next federal government.

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The Expansion of Milícias in Rio de Janeiro. Political and Economic Advantages

Cited by 7 publications

References 3 publications

Police Places: Ethnographic Notes About Other Police Territorialities in the Suburbs of Rio de Janeiro

Police Places: Ethnographic Notes About Other Police Territorialities in the Suburbs of Rio de Janeiro

“Captains of the Sands”: Urban Illicit Ecologies and Sandscapes in Rio de Janeiro

Housing Security: Placing Brazil’s Social Housing Program in a Violent Context

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