Research Question to Which the Literature Review Applies (Agreed to in Conference)

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Research Question to which the Literature Review applies (agreed to in conference):

How does the exercise of influence/control by gangs inside of the favelas (shantytowns) affect local politics in Rio de Janeiro and other large Brazilian cities?

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Gang Influence in the Favelas of Brazil

Squatter settlements or favelas, as they are called in Brazil, have become common in the large cities of Latin America. The favelas are home to the urban poor and inside them government officials have little influence. Favelas often exist in close proximity to middle and upper class neighborhoods (Shirley 1990). Police forces have little direct influence and almost no control of favela life. Consequently, national, regional and local governments have only an intermittent presence in the favelas.

Favelas are often controlled - socially, economically, and politically - by drug gangs and their powerful leader, the dono. This paper, through the examination of eight peer-reviewed articles will interpret how gangs control favelas and impact this control has on local politics in Brazilian cities. Based on findings in the eight articles that we selected special attention will be given to the dono as a patriarchal client figure, and to how gangs shape civic life. This review has two final sections. The first discusses and analyzes the important holes found within the eight article research, viewed as a body of knowledge. The second specifies two researchable propositions that could fill these holes. The table appearing at the beginning of this review includes the formal bibliographical citation for each article and summaries of the methodology used in the research, types of data collected and key terms employed. Finally, the table provides summations of the principal findings of each article.

Table 1: Summary of peer reviewed journal articles

Full Citation / Method(s) Used / Kind of Data / Key Terms / Findings
Penglase, R. Ben. “The Shutdown of Rio de Janeiro: The Poetics of Drug Trafficker Violence.”
Anthropology Today, Vol. 21, No. 5 (Oct., 2005), pp. 3-6. / Qualitative analysis; There are not many numbers used, but instead accounts of the actions of the CV. These actions are taken into account to explain the gang environment in Rio. / Most of the accounts come from residents of the areas affected by the shut down. There are also interviews with officials and activists in the community. Most of the interviews took place in 2000, 2002, and 2003. Also some quotes and information was taken from other studies from different years. / Holiday of Terror: Last day of September 2002, the Comando Vermelho told businesses to shut down and panic spread throughout the city
Comando Vermelho: One of Rio’s most powerful drug syndicates, they control many neighborhoods
Traficos: a word used to describe the drug traffickers / 1. Traffickers have a large amount of control over the favelas. Even extending to the ability to affect commerce and the public transit system.
2. The traficos present a two sided coin to the population. They are seen as “polite” by many and can lead to stability in the neighborhoods. But they can also be violent and present dangers to the families if they are crossed, or if a daughter catches the eye of a drug dealer and turns him down.
3. Favelas give a large amount of power to the traficos because they view them as the moral and legitimate instillers of violence. The urban poor view the elite who “officially” run the city as corrupt. Drug dealers are the ones who watch out for the poor, in the views of favelas residents.
Arias, Enrique Desmond and Rodrigues, Corinne Davis.
“The Myth of Personal Security: Criminal Gangs, Dispute Resolution, and Identity in Rio de Janeiro's Favelas” Latin American Politics and Society Vol. 48, No. 4 (Winter, 2006), pp. 53-81. / Qualitative Analysis, done through analysis of specific examples of trafficker and resident interaction. Combination of different studies done on the subject by different research. / Most of the data focuses on direct quotes from studies of the interactions between favela residents and traffickers and how these interactions have lead to a myth of personal protection in exchanged for involvement in the gangs. Most of the data focuses on five favelas in Rio. / Personal Security: the belief that if a resident of the favela pledges loyalty and becomes involved in a gang, then they will be protected from violence and justice will be served if they are wronged.
Marginalized: In the favelas if one is not well connected to the traffickers or if one participates in certain behavior then they may become victims of violence and lose property.
Lei do silencio: the law of silence. Describes the social norms in the favelas which put pressure on the residents to maintain silence when it comes to discussion the violent events of the neighborhood publically. / 1.  During the military regimes of the later part of the 20th century in Brazil, favela dwellers mostly stayed within their own families to prevent violence against them. This has changed into favela norms where the gangs impose justice.
2.  In the favelas there are two types of people. Those who are connected to the gangs and drug dealers and those who have become marginalized and disconnected from the mainstream. Marginalized individuals are often the targets of violence and usually the only way for those not connected with crime to escape marginalization is by joining an evangelical Christian group.
3.  The dono generally keeps order in the favelas and punishes those who upset the order. Since the police of the legitimate government are often corrupt and responsible for homicides it falls to the gangs to keep order against things like rape, robbery, and drunkenness.
Perlman, Janice E. “The Metamorphosis of Marginality: Four Generations in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Vol. 606, Chronicle of a Myth Foretold: The Washington Consensus in Latin America (Jul., 2006), pp. 154-177. / Quantitative mostly, uses interviews with participants to gauge level of poverty. Uses population data to show growth of favelas. Second interview uses the same sets of data to gauge upward mobility. The data is only for two set points in time, / The data in this journal is longitudinal survey data, life histories, and participant observations. These came from three low-income neighborhoods once in 1968-69 and once again in 1999-2003. The data is on population, SES, and amenities. / SES: Socioeconomic status, measures income, education, household goods and persons per room.
Fernando Cardoso: A president of Brazil who installed many social programs, such as school grants and basic food baskets. These programs supported favela families
South Zone: A wealthier area of the favelas that had increased growth and larger incomes since the 1968-69 interviews / 1.  Race and Gender have little to do with the upward mobility in the favelas. There seem to be a mixed assortment of “chronically poor”. This was against what many studies had thought
2.  The forceful removal of some housing projects in the 1970’s was not as bad in the long term as originally thought. Those in the projects during the original survey had a higher likelihood of having medium or high SES.
3.  40% of the respondents in the 1968-69 survey had achieved some upward mobility and were renters or owners of legitimate dwellings by the 1999-2003 interviews.
Arias, Enrique Desmond. “Faith in Our Neighbors: Networks and Social Order in Three Brazilian Favelas.” Latin American Politics and Society Vol. 46, No. 1 (Spring, 2004), pp. 1-38. / Mostly Qualitative, using some empirical cases from three favelas: Vigario Geral, Tubarao, and Santa Ana. The data was detailed local analysis. / The kind of data used was empirical cases of the residents of the favelas. The analysis here is used to show the micro level politics of the local conflicts. The data also comes from different studies on the same topic. The cases come from stories from the three favelas. / Networks: both formal and informal connections that favela residents form to express political ideas and control violence.
NGO: Non-Governmental Organization. More structured networks than those found at the street level, these groups often advocate politically for the favela residents and are connected nation-wide.
Casa da Paz: an NGO from Vigario that helps set up cooperative work within the community. When the police marched on the favela and incited a massacre this group helped to keep it in the headlines and promote the welfare of the residents. / 1.  The police in the favelas have traditionally served to oppose popular movements and have been at odds with the residents. The police and officials are often paid off to stay away and not interfere with the trafficking.
2.  Non-governmental organizations often take the place of a local law enforcement agency to curve violence. Communities with more NGOs are often associated with lower levels of violence and murders.
3.  Every favela has a different culture associated with it. This culture exists as a combination of the trafficking in the area as well as the types and levels of activity the NGO’s experience. The three favelas in this article show the contrast between different favelas even within the same city.
Pinheiro, Paulo Sérgio. “Democratic Governance, Violence, and the (Un)Rule of Law.” Daedalus Vol. 129 No.2, Brazil: The Burden of the Past; The Promise of the Future. (Spring 2000): pp. 119-143. / Pinheiro draws upon quantitative statistical analysis to show the trend of increasing violence in Brazil. / Quantitative and Qualitative citing of homicide rates in Brazil vs. developed countries, death rates of civilians killed by the police, and the percentage of the of judges vs. police officers in the criminal justice system of the various Brazilian states / Death Squad-clandestine organizations prevalent during the Authoritarian regimes that were used to suppress political dissidence. They still exist in some form well into the Democratic period.
Justiceiro-vigilante, often times the police themselves.
Matador-gunman, not mutually exclusive from a justiceiro.
CSO-Civil Society Organizations; operates as censors to hear public opinion.
Ouvidoria-ombudsman, receives and processes complaints of police violence to increase transparency. / 1.Marginilzed groups comprised of urban or rural poor don’t have adequate access to justice. Strong racial discrimination still exists restricting access to justice the most for Afro-Brazilian and indigenous populations.
2.Violence within the favelas is seen as a legitimate means of solving conflicts between residents of the favela, but also between favela residents and the state.
3.Brazil’s criminal justice system is comprised of an abundance of police forces, and a severe lack of judicial and court officials. This is especially the case in the NE region and other poor areas of Brazil.
Shirley, Robert W. “Recreating Communities: The Formation of Community In a Brazilian Shantytown.” Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development , Vol. 19, No. 3 (FALL, 1990), pp. 255-276. / Personal research within the Morro favela of Porto Alegre, Brazil. / Qualitative direct observation and personal interviews with local community members and leaders, including Carioca, the well-respected leader of the largest local gang.
Quantitative collection of local school census data. / Villas de Invasão: Squatter settlements. Often officially “non-recognized” by government officials.
Mutirão: Mutual work group.
Umbanda-Afro-Brazilian religion that blends African and Catholic elements.
Gangues-drug selling gangs.
Codigo de Bandidos-The Bandit’s Code which stated that crime shouldn’t be committed within the community. The state of being an “honest or good” bandit. / 1. Drug gangs exert tremendous influence within favela communities. They provide a large number of wide ranging jobs (especially for youth and young adults) and are one of the favelas principle economic contributors. They are comprised of home-grown community members with vast kin and friendship ties within the overall favela community.
2.Gang leaders are known to be “folkloric” figures that provide stability and charity to the local community.
3. Outside police pressure tends to increase local community solidarity. The police are viewed in an overwhelmingly negative light, and are responsible for much of the violence in the community.
Rodrigues, Corinne Davis. “Civil Democracy, Perceived Risk, and Insecurity in Brazil: An Extension of the Systemic Social Control Model.”
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , Vol. 605, Democracy, Crime, and Justice (May, 2006), pp. 242-263. / Logistic regression analysis of data from the 2002 Survey of the Metropolitan Area of Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Dependent Variable-fear of crime.
Independent Variables-social bond, individual social demographics, and contextualization of perceived social disorder and crime rates
However, for this author’s research, only data from within the city limits of Belo Horizonte was used. / Kinds of Data:
Survey contains quantitative and qualitative data concerning social control and perceived risk, social bonds on the private and parochial level, measurements of types of local and civic participation and confidence in police and democratic government. / Perceived risk-To what extent people perceive the risk of crime and violence.
Social control-The degree to which a community is organized, bonded, and stable.
Disjunctive Democracy- Separation between the successful consolidation of political rights/electoral processes and continued lack of civil democracy/democratic rule of law.
Social Organizations-strength of social bonds within a community/neighborhood
Brown Area-area where law is neither present nor effective. / 1. Due to the disjunctive democracy inherent in Brazil, there are high levels of perceived risk of victimization and crime, which is felt strongest in the areas where social control is the lowest (poor areas).
2. The higher the perceived legitimacy of police; the lower the perceived risk of crime and violence was.
3. Community level social bonds (private and parochial) are not sufficient in determining neighborhood safety.
Leeds, Elizabeth. 1996. “Cocaine and Parallel Polities in the Urban Periphery: Constraints on Local-Level Democratization.” Latin American Research Review 32, 3: 47-83. / Qualitative analysis of interviews and personal observations; part of a larger study of the relationship between squatter settlements, squatter residents, and Brazil. Content analysis was applied, but not explicitly stated. / Research conducted in 1987-1989, 1991, 1994, and 1995 involved both interviews with local community leaders in 25 favelas as well as government officials, and with inmates in 3 prisons in Rio de Janeiro. / Structural Violence-conditions that cause or lead to highly unequal distribution of basic resources, that promotes the characteristics of an urban lower class.
Lei de seguranca-law of security; under the authoritarian regime political prisoners were combined with common criminals and equal national security threats. The political prisoners passed on an ethos of collectivism based on an internal system of authority that resulted in prison law and justice enacted by prisoners against prisoners.
Comando Vermelho-Red Command, the largest and most organized of the prison collectives.
Favelado-resident of a favela.
O Dono-local drug lord, a person of respect within the community.
Parallel security-Both the drug gangs and the police serve as competing security forces within the favelas, with the drug gangs exerting more influence and pragmatic protection against violence. / 1. Largely due to the selective presence and absence of the state in poor communities, the distribution and selling of drugs from the poor favela communities to the surrounding middle and upper class communities has created both economic and political relationships between the various communities, the state, and the drug gangs.
2. Large cocaine dealing networks both within prisons and in the favelas were developed by the organizational abilities and collectivism ethos of the prison organizations (like Red Command).
3. The increase of the cocaine trade has created a sharp rise in the number of weapons within the favela to be used against police as well as competing drug rivals.
4. Lack of support for the police by the favela community as a whole as created patron-client relationships with the head drug lord as the chief client. Furthermore, the community as a whole, due to lack of helping the police, harbors an environment for the profitable distribution of cocaine.

Source of Gang Influence in Brazilian Favelas