Movement and death: illicit drug markets in the cities of São Paulo and Rio De Janeiro: Movimento e Morte: o tráfico de drogas nas cidades de São Paulo e Rio de Janeiro

Daniel Veloso Hirata and Carolina Cristoph Grillo

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: This article analyzes the relationship between violence and the illicit drug market by comparing retail drug trade in the favelas and peripheral neighborhoods of the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. To do so, we carried out ethnographical field work in both cities and a literature review on the topic. Considering illegal markets and forces of order in charge of suppressing them as part of one single object of study, this article explores the mechanics of the relationship between drug trafficking and the police and how it governs the lives and deaths of the poor population in those cities. Rio and São Paulo showcase different scenarios in terms of how the drug trade is structured and practiced: Whereas Rio de Janeiro lives in a state of ‘war’ due to the disputes among rival drug factions and with the police (who is thus more lethal), São Paulo is believed to live ‘at peace’, as trafficking is controlled by one single comando and the city showcases higher incarceration rates. We shall argue that such differences also influence the way the retail drug market operates in each city. This comparison focuses on the intersection of three dimensions: The marketplaces of drug retail sales; the dynamics of criminal collectives; and the different power dynamics among drug dealers and forces of order. O presente artigo reflete sobre a relação entre mercado ilegal de drogas e violência, a partir da comparação do mercado varejista de drogas em favelas e bairros de periferias das cidades de São Paulo e Rio de Janeiro. As reflexões aqui apresentadas baseiam-se no trabalho de campo etnográfico realizado nas duas cidades, bem como a revisão de estudos sobre o tema. Tomando os mercados ilegais e as forças da ordem encarregadas de combate-los como parte do mesmo objeto de pesquisa, o presente artigo explora a mecânica das relações entre tráfico de drogas e polícia, envolvida na gestão da vida e morte da população pobre. Em face às guerras concorrenciais entre facções cariocas e a ideia de paz associada à hegemonia de um único comando em São Paulo, bem como a maior letalidade da ação policial no Rio de Janeiro e o maior encarceramento em São Paulo, será argumentado que essas diferenças se relacionam também ao modo como é operada a venda varejista de drogas em cada cidade. A comparação concentra-se no cruzamento de três dimensões: os lugares de mercado do varejo de drogas; as dinâmicas dos coletivos criminais; e os distintos arranjos de poder estabelecidos entre os traficantes e os agentes das forças da ordem.

Keywords: Drug traffic; Violence; São Paulo; Rio de Janeiro (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 11 pages
Date: 2019-06-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his and nep-ure
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Published in Journal of Illicit Economies and Development, 4, June, 2019, 1(2), pp. 122-133. ISSN: 2516-7227

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