(Image from Guardian)
Less than ten years ago in Rio, Brazil, gangs and crime wars were at their height, and the causes for this were not entirely socioeconomic, but climate-related as well. As weather patterns in the Northeast, or Nordeste, of Brazil change and become more extreme, including droughts and flooding which cause immeasurable damages to infrastructure and economy, and driving a majority of the farmers and other population out of the area. As people are pushed away from their homes due to extreme weather patterns and into the larger cities, they most often must live in the Favelas, underfunded, crime-stricken communities controlled by gangs. As they settle and try to survive, many join the gangs for whichever means they may need. This chain reaction of forced relocation and insufficient living standards that lead to individuals joining gangs fuels the gangs themselves and has negative impacts on the Rio crime wars.
The standards in which people are even given the opportunity to join gangs are indescribable, as well. As the country attempts to implement new plans in order to decrease violence within the Favelas, police presence is the authority seen most, and the standards and regulations for police officers are not up to par with what most would describe as moral policing. Residents of the Favelas discuss the violence of the police as they force people inside at a certain time, break into homes, physically punish them for crimes, harass them as they enter and exit the community, and over punish petty crimes. As of 2009, only four police officers had been convicted of abuses in the past ten years. Overall, the further development behind the countries plan to aid these communities had not proceeded past the first step, and the police presence made for angered gang members and distressed citizens. This information and more on the issue can be found in ch. 13 in Tropics of Chaos by Christian Parenti.
A quick internet search of any of these issues shows that, over ten years later, the issues of gangs, crime wars, and police presence persist. A recent report from BBC says that at least 25 people were killed as the police began an operation after a discovery that gangs were recruiting children to drug trafficking (BBC). Another report from Time explains that Jair Bolssonaro, the new president of Brazil promised to rid the country of drug-related crimes and gangs using whatever means necessary, including violence (Miranda). Alongside these reports, an article from The Guardian helps illustrate the lack of cooperation from police as they violated a court order stating that there should not be any raids during the pandemic by raiding the Favelas nearly every day, and killing almost 800 people as a result (Guardian).
As the climate crisis presses on, we can expect further outmigration in Brazil and overpopulation in its big cities, meaning more opportunities for crime and police violence as the population becomes larger and harder to manage, along with further reason for police presence and negative implications for the country's laws and power placement.
Works Cited
BBC. “Brazil: At Least 25 Killed in Rio de Janeiro Shootout.” BBC News, 6 May 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57013206. Accessed Oct 2021.
Guardian. “Police killing hundreds in Rio de Janeiro despite court ban on favela raids.” The Guardian, 18 April 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/apr/18/police-kill-hundreds-rio-de-janeiro-favela-raids-court-ban. Accessed October 2021.
Miranda, David. “A Deadly Police Raid in Rio Show How Bolsonaro's Policies are Wreaking Havoc in Brazil.” Time, 8 May 2021, https://time.com/6047032/jair-bolsonaro-crime-policies-brazils-favelas/.
Parenti, Christian. Tropics of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence. New York, Nation Books, 2011.
I ended up writing about the same topic. I can't process the fact that the police officers are responsible for so many of the deaths in Rio. These officers are using these firearms like gang members shooting whoever walks in there path. After doing research it makes sense why the crime rate is so high.
ReplyDeleteWith negligent policing and crime ridden streets from this article I surmise Brazil is on it's way to being a possible failed state.
ReplyDeleteI find it very hypocritical for the police to act like they are doing the right thing and should be the ones in power. They really are no better than the gangs. Unfortunately, I do not see Brazil changing their societal beliefs so these issues will just get worse.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like a revolving door when it comes to the Favelas. As the Favelas are controlled by gangs and criminals, farmers and other people from the outskirts must move into favelas to survive and thus, must join the gangs that control them for a better chance at a decent life. Very scary to think about
ReplyDeleteI wish that the police were more reliable or that the country was able to do more about all of the violence without causing more violence but I don't know how that is possible at this point.
ReplyDeleteDo you think a solution to the policing problem in Rio could be replacing them with an "unbiased" force. What I am referring to is a robotic police force that would make black and white choices. This could also be said to many place around the world that deal with similar policing problems.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you emphasize the connection between climate hardship in rural areas and the increased violence in the cities. It's astonishing to me to hear some of the details about what goes on there. It seems like the climate crisis is not the only major issue here. There are many at play that contribute to the instability of this region.
ReplyDeleteThe influx of migrants to cities, along with shortages of everything is going to lead to a mass recruitment of those gangs in the favelas as people become more desperate, which will probably result in an even harsher police crackdown... Population centers this big are scary to think of in terms of climate-change, my own blog post was on India and the similarly immense disasters that will come if things don't reverse somehow. And somehow I don't think Jair Bolsonaro is going to be up for it.
ReplyDelete