Books by Sebastian Saborio
Sia all’interno del dibattito accademico che della retorica politica si discute molto di sicurezz... more Sia all’interno del dibattito accademico che della retorica politica si discute molto di sicurezza urbana. Ciononostante, resta ancora da esplorare in che modo la “sicurezza urbana” possa differenziarsi da altre forme di sicurezza. Questo volume serve a porre le basi per analisi e studi futuri che abbiano l’obiettivo specifico di comprendere se, e quando, i contesti cittadini influenzino il fenomeno della sicurezza, al punto tale da doverla declinare nella sua accezione “urbana”. Gli autori dei saggi hanno cercato di rispondere ad una o più delle seguenti domande: in che modo il contesto urbano determina le espressioni più visibili e quelle meno facilmente individuabili di fenomeni quali criminalità, violenza, disordine e conflitto? Quali sono gli attori sociali che, all’interno delle città, influenzano maggiormente le pratiche di controllo per contrastare o diminuire tali fenomeni? Quali conflitti sociali emergono come conseguenza diretta delle pratiche di controllo dispiegate dentro le città? Nel fare ciò, ogni saggio prende in considerazione le specificità delle città in analisi per spiegare come queste determinano ed influenzano tali pratiche di controllo.
Journal by Sebastian Saborio
Published articles and chapters by Sebastian Saborio
InterSedes, 2023
Con el objetivo de comprender si la autoridad de las bandas que se dedican al narc... more Con el objetivo de comprender si la autoridad de las bandas que se dedican al narcomenudeo en Rincón Grande de Pavas, conjunto de barrios empobrecidos de la capital costarricense, es considerada como legítima por parte de la población local, el autor llevó a cabo una investigación entre marzo 2019 y marzo 2020. Ésta se realizó a través de 67 entrevistas en profundidad, principalmente a residentes de la zona analizada. Los resultados de la investigación demuestran que los grupos que se dedican a la venta de drogas no son considerados como legítimos por parte de las personas residentes, principalmente porque no les brindan beneficios concretos e imponen reglas de manera autoritaria mediante el uso de la violencia.
To understand if the authority of drug dealing groups is considered legitimate by the local population of Rincon Grande de Pavas, a set of impoverished neighborhoods of capital of Costa Rica, the author carried out research between March 2019 and March 2020. During the field work the author realized 67 in deep interviews, mainly with residents of the analyzed area. The results show that drug dealing groups are not considered legitims by the residents, mainly because they do not offer them concrete benefits and impose their rules in an authoritative way by using violence.
Territorios y desarrollo : teorías, debates y casos desde América Latina, 2022
En este capítulo se presentarán los resultados de una investigación cualitativa sobre el caso de ... more En este capítulo se presentarán los resultados de una investigación cualitativa sobre el caso de estudio de Rincón Grande de Pavas, un conjunto de barrios de la capital costarricense. El objetivo fue investigar los procesos de territorialización de los grupos que se dedican al narcomenudeo, para entender si ellos tienen control sobre el territorio en el que están posicionados. Aspectos tales como la estructura de los grupos, la imposición de la “ley del silencio” respecto a las actividades criminales, el control de los robos y la vigilancia de las zonas de venta de drogas muestran los límites y alcances de la territorialización narcomenudeante en el contexto analizado. Los resultados muestran que, a diferencia de cuanto sucede en otros contextos latinoamericanos, por ejemplo, Río de Janeiro (Brasil), donde las agrupaciones criminales controlan la mayor parte de las favelas, en Rincón Grande de Pavas los procesos de territorialización son limitados y tienen, principalmente, el propósito de garantizar la venta de drogas, sin gestionar otros aspectos de la vida cotidiana de las comunidades en las cuales están posicionados. Las agrupaciones criminales de Rincón Grande tienen escasa capacidad de delimitar el territorio en el cual ejercitar su autoridad y, mucho menos, consiguen administrar los asuntos políticos y económicos más allá de la venta de sustancias ilícitas. Desde una perspectiva de desarrollo local es importante comprender si los barrios urbano-marginalizados son controlados o no por parte de grupos criminales, porque de esto puede depender la factibilidad y el éxito de políticas públicas y programas sociales
This chapter presents the results of the study of Rincon Grande of Pavas, a set of neighborhoods in the capital of Costa Rica. The research analysed the territorialisation processes of the drug-dealing groups to understand if they control the territory in which they are located. Aspects such as the structure of the groups, the imposition of a “law of silence” regarding criminal activity, the control of muggings, and the surveillance of the drug-dealing spots show the limits and scopes of the drug dealers’ territorialisation in the studied area. The results show that, in contrast with other Latin American contexts -for example Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), where the criminal groups control most of the favelas- in Rincon Grande of Pavas territorialisation processes are limited and mostly aim to guarantee the drug-dealing activity. Criminal groups do not try to manage other daily life aspects of the communities in which they are located, having limited capacity to delimitate the territory in which they exercise their power or administer political and economic aspects that do not involve drug-dealing. From a local development perspective, it is important to understand if marginalized urban neighbourhoods are controlled or not by criminal groups since this can affect the feasibility and success of public policies and social programs.
Reflexiones, 2024
Introduction: This article shows that among residents of Rincon Grande of Pavas, a group of vulne... more Introduction: This article shows that among residents of Rincon Grande of Pavas, a group of vulnerable neighborhoods in capital of Costa Rica, circulate negative rumors regarding police activity against drug dealing. These rumors reflect discontent of local population towards police forces in the analyzed area.
Objective: There are no studies in Costa Rica about police control over drug dealing in marginalized urban areas, and its consequences with regards to the relation between the police forces and the local population. This article seeks to bridge this gap and, to do so, analyzes the case of Rincon Grande of Pavas.
Methodology: In order to reach the conclusions presented in this article, the author uses 67 in depth interviews carried out mainly with residents of the analyzed area between March 2019 and March 2020, and a focus group with five police officers in February 2019.
Results: Results show that, according to the residents of Rincon Grande of Pavas, police in this area in general is ineffective and, regarding drug dealing, has an active participation in illegal markets and makes an excessive and indiscriminate use of force. These are the elements that produce the most aversion among the inhabitants of the area, thus reducing the legitimacy of police forces.
Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 2021
En este artículo se demuestra que la policía emplea dos estrategias para controlar a las personas... more En este artículo se demuestra que la policía emplea dos estrategias para controlar a las personas y los territorios socialmente excluidos: la imposición de la fuerza y la búsqueda de consenso. La primera se lleva a cabo por parte de quienes gobiernan los Estados a través de retóricas y prácticas securitarias y represivas que tienden a generar nueva exclusión y aumentar las formas de exclusión preexistentes. La segunda, en cambio, la ejecutan mediante prácticas de carácter más democrático, las cuales tienen como principal objetivo aumentar el consenso de la población hacia las fuerzas policiales y su accionar. A lo largo del texto se demuestra que existe una correlación y codependencia entre estas dos estrategias, dado que la policía no puede ser únicamente represiva, así como no puede limitarse a buscar el consenso entre las personas que controla. Para alcanzar este resultado, se ponen a dialogar los clásicos de los estudios policiales con los aportes de investigaciones recientes sobre estos temas, en particular, los que se basan en el análisis de la realidad social de países latinoamericanos y de otros contextos del Sur Global.
This article demonstrates that the police use two strategies, executed by governments, to control socially excluded territories and persons: the imposition of force and the search for consensus. The former is carried through employing securitized and repressive rhetoric and practices that tend to produce more exclusion or increase pre-existing exclusionary conditions. The latter, in contrast, through more democratic practices
whose main goal is to increase the population’s acceptance towards the police force and their actions. The text shows the correlation and co dependence between these two strategies, given that the police cannot solely be repressive or looking for consensus among the people they control. To achieve this result, the author sets a dialogue between the classics of police studies and more recent research results, in particular those based on the analysis of the social reality of Latin American countries and other contexts of the Global South.
Studi sulla questione criminale, 2021
The conflicts between gangs that are dedicated to drug dealing in the impoverished neighborhoods ... more The conflicts between gangs that are dedicated to drug dealing in the impoverished neighborhoods of Latin America are mainly due to the control of drug outlets. However, this explanation is insufficient when trying to understand the reasons that produce the alternation between moments characterized by high levels of conflict between criminal groups and moments of apparent tranquility. From a socio-historical perspective, the authors show that the monopoly on the sale of drugs, which is possible thanks to the consolidation and organization of these groups, is the most influential factor in this regard. To achieve these results, they analyzed in depth the case of Rincón Grande de Pavas, a group of neighborhoods in the Costa Rican capital, by conducting 67 interviews that were triangulated with the analysis of secondary data from criminal statistics, particularly those related to the homicides, and 1,036 news items from the newspaper La Nación, the most widely read nationwide. Specifically, the case studied showed that the consolidation and monopoly of the “Banda del Indio” between 2010 and 2012 monopolized the sale of drugs and decreased homicides in the studied area. Instead, his arrest generated a power struggle between different drug dealing groups between 2012 and 2018, which produced a condition of “criminal disorder” that characterized the sale of drugs in the analyzed locality in 2019, the year in which the field work of the present investigation was carried out. The paper shows that the absence of solid leadership and the presence of a multiplicity of criminal groups in the same locality favor the occurrence of conflicts over the sale of drugs, but also for other more trivial reasons, which are the direct consequence of masculinity hegemonic and social exclusion experienced by young people in impoverished neighborhoods in Costa Rica.
Diálogos, 2022
Mediante sesenta y siete entrevistas a residentes de Pavas, privados de libertad y autoridades po... more Mediante sesenta y siete entrevistas a residentes de Pavas, privados de libertad y autoridades policiales, y la consulta de material periodístico y estadísticas oficiales, los investigadores demuestran que la vinculación al narcomenudeo, por parte de los grupos criminales locales, provocó la transformación de sus prácticas.
De tal manera, los autores plantean que la llegada masiva de droga a la localidad de Pavas llevó a estas agrupaciones a un mayor uso de la violencia para resolver conflictos y a estructurarse más, pasando de ser pandillas a lo que hoy en día las autoridades denominan “mini-cárteles criollos”. El artículo plantea un análisis de las etapas del conflicto entre los grupos criminales y relaciona diferentes aspectos tales como las características socioeconómicas del contexto analizado y los distintos actores involucrados en las luchas por controlar los puntos de venta y compra de estupefacientes.
URVIO, Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios de Seguridad, 2019
Resumen El presente artículo analiza el fenómeno del control territorial llevado a cabo por parte... more Resumen El presente artículo analiza el fenómeno del control territorial llevado a cabo por parte de grupos criminales que se dedican al narcomenudeo en barrios de las ciudades latinoamericanas. Demuestra que las publicaciones sobre el tema asumen que existe una definición clara de "control territorial", pero terminan por referirse a procesos sociales diferentes. Apoyándose en los conceptos de territorio, territorialidad y territorialización, el autor define los elementos que conforman las diferentes modalidades de control territorial que llevan a cabo las bandas del narcomenudeo. De esa manera, brinda una herramienta de análisis compuesta por diferentes indicadores: quiénes son los sujetos controlados por las bandas, cuál es la extensión, modalidad y objetivos del control territorial y de qué manera dichos grupos influencian la vida política, asociativa y otras esferas de la cotidianeidad de las comunidades en las cuales están situados.
Abstract This article analyses the phenomena of territorial control that is carried on by small scale drug trafficking groups in Latin American cities. It shows that existing publications on this topic take for granted what "territorial control" is, but end up referring to different social processes. Leaning in the concepts of territory, territoriality and territorialization, the author defines which elements shape the different modalities of territorial control implemented by small scale drug trafficking groups. In this way, he provides an analytical tool composed by different indicators: who are the subjects controlled by drug gangs, what is the extension, modality and objectives of territorial control and how do these groups influence political and associative life as well as other spheres of everyday life of the communities in which they are located.
Anuario CIEP, 2018
Este artículo analiza las Unidades de Policía Pacificadora (UPPs) de Río de Janei-ro. Las cuales ... more Este artículo analiza las Unidades de Policía Pacificadora (UPPs) de Río de Janei-ro. Las cuales desde diciembre del 2008 se han encargado de tomar el control de algunas de las favelas de la ciudad que eran ocupadas por grupos criminales fuer-temente armados. Mediante el uso de los conceptos de “necropolítica” de Mbembe y de “pacificación” de Neocleous, se demostrará que en estos espacios el control policial está fuertemente marcado por su pasado colonial. En particular, en los úl-timos cuarenta años ha quedado claro que, para quienes han gobernado la ciudad, la vida de los habitantes de las favelas por sí misma no tiene ningún valor y que la decisión de dejarlos vivir o hacerlos morir está subordinada a intereses econó-micos. Antes del proceso de pacificación, las autoridades locales, apoyadas por la opinión pública, fomentaban la letalidad policial en las favelas, mientras que la permanencia de las UPPs se caracterizó por el intento de ocultar el necropoder de la policía en estos territorios y por querer transformar la imagen de los residentes con la intención de apoyar procesos de atracción de capitales internacionales que la ciudad implementó en la última década. En fin, se profundizará sobre los motivos que llevaron los agentes de las UPPs a considerar que su principal misión es la de “civilizar” la población de las favelas. El análisis propuesto en este artículo es el resultado de un estudio etnográfico desarrollado principalmente junto a miembros de tres Unidades de Policía Pacificadora entre el 2013 y el 2015.
This article analyses the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs) of Rio de Janeiro which, sin-ce 2008, have taken control of some of the favelas that were previously dominated by highly armed criminal groups. Through both Mbembe’s concept of “necropolitics” and Neocleous’ one of “pacification”, it will be demonstrated that in these spaces po-lice control is strongly marked by its colonial past. In particular, during the last forty years it has become clear that, for those who have governed the city, the life of the inhabitants of the favelas has no value by itself and that the decision of letting them live or die is subordinated to economic interests. Before the pacification process, local authorities, supported by public opinion, encouraged police lethality within the favelas, while the UPPs’ presence was characterized by an attempt to hide police’s necropower in these territories and by the willingness to transform the image of the residents with the intention of supporting processes of attraction of international ca-pital that the city had implemented in the last decade. To conclude, the article will look into the reasons that brought UPPs’ agents to consider that their main mission is that of “civilizing” the favela population. The analysis proposed in this article is the result of an ethnographic study mainly developed with members of three different Pacifying Police Units between 2013 and 2015.
Reflexiones , 2019
Resumen En Costa Rica, el conocimiento sobre la narcoviolencia, es decir, la violencia vinculada ... more Resumen En Costa Rica, el conocimiento sobre la narcoviolencia, es decir, la violencia vinculada al narcotráfico y al narcomenudeo, es escaso y muy fragmentado. Este artículo tiene el objetivo de mostrar cuál es, a nivel nacional, el estado del arte sobre este tema. Unificando el conocimiento existente sobre la narcoviolencia, se brinda un análisis y síntesis que pueden servir a aquellos que, desde el sector público y la sociedad civil, quieran entender cuáles son las características principales de dicho fenómeno, con el fin de buscar e implementar nuevas soluciones. En particular, se explica qué se entiende en el país por criminalidad organizada; qué sabemos sobre el impacto que el narcotráfico internacional tiene sobre el contexto nacional; cómo se organizan los grupos del narcomenudeo en las comunidades urbano-marginalizadas y cuáles son las causas sociales de este problema. En un segundo momento, son señalados los vacíos existentes en la literatura y, con base en estos se indican posibles rutas para futuras investigaciones académicas.
Palabras clave: Violencia, Narcotráfico, Narcomenudeo, Costa Rica, Estado de la cuestión.
Abstract
In Costa Rica the existing knowledge about narcoviolence, the violence related to drug trafficking and local drug-dealing, is sparse and very much fragmented. This article aims to show what is, at a national level, the state of the art on this topic. Unifying the existing knowledge on narcoviolence makes it possible to offer an analysis and synthesis that can be useful to those that, in the public sector and in civil society, want to understand what the main characteristics of this phenomenon are to then implement new solutions. In particular, we explain the country's understanding of organized crime, what we know about the impact that international drug trafficking has on the national context, how the local drug-dealing groups are organized in urban-marginalized communities, and what the social causes of this problem are. Secondly, the existing gaps in the literature are indicated, demonstrating possible routes for future academic research.
The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies, 2019
Favelas is the word used in Brazil to designate areas commonly known as slums. However, the term ... more Favelas is the word used in Brazil to designate areas commonly known as slums. However, the term suggests more than territories defined by scarcity, lack of basic services, and poor housing. Favelas expanded as a colonial legacy of slavery and of the growing divide between the urban have and have-nots. Today they are present in most metropolises in the country; although varying in size and location, they shape the urban and social landscape of Brazilian cities. Largely interpreted by simplistic dichotomic categories, such as formal/informal, legal/illegal, security/insecurity, hillside/asphalt, favelas should be analyzed through more comprehensive and historically situated approaches that integrate stigmatization, marginalization, and otherness.
Rio de Janeiro is preparing to host two major sporting events in the coming years: the 2014 FIFA ... more Rio de Janeiro is preparing to host two major sporting events in the coming years: the 2014 FIFA World Football Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. Local authorities are promoting these mega events as an opportunity to increase the global competitiveness of the city. But in order to attract private capital from the global economy it is not enough for Rio to showcase the city as capable of organizing and implementing these events. Rather, the authorities must also demonstrate that what has been considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world can now become a safe place for business. To do so, what has been promoted as a new model of 'community policing' the UPP (Pacifying Police Units) has been implemented since 2008 in 107 favelas. The majority of the favelas involved in the program are situated around the sites where these mega events will take place and around other wealthy areas of the city. This article analyses the relation between mega events, global competitiveness and the neutralization of local marginality.
Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa, Dec 2014
According to Stephen Graham, cities have become the battlespaces of a new generation of warfare. ... more According to Stephen Graham, cities have become the battlespaces of a new generation of warfare. The «new military urbanism» entails the blurring of military and civilian spheres as it concerns urban security doctrine and practice. This article applies Graham's theory to Rio de Janeiro, a city of the Global South that has recently enhanced its existing urban securitization processes, in particular the militarization of the favelas. This acceleration mirrors the city's «mega event»-oriented strategy to attract global financial capital. By analyzing the uprisings that began in June 2013, this contribution identifies how urban conflicts create popular resistance to the new military urbanism and violent policing activity.
http://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.3240/78482
Autonomie locali e servizi sociali, 2014
http://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.1447/78785
In 2008, the local government of Rio de Janeiro beg... more http://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.1447/78785
In 2008, the local government of Rio de Janeiro began the implementation of the Pacifying Police Units (Upps) program in the city’s favelas, Brazil’s informal settlements. The program was first promoted as a new community police initiative, but ultimately came to be rebranded as a proximity policing program. The purpose of this article is to explain this shift and how community policing and proximity practices have being implemented. Data collected from an ethnographic study support the analysis of the relations with community members, decentralization of police powers, prevention of crime and delivery of social services inside the pacified favelas.
Sociologia del Diritto, 2014
http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=53243&Tipo=Articolo+PDF&lingua=... more http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=53243&Tipo=Articolo+PDF&lingua=it&idRivista=51
Rio de Janeiro si sta preparando ad ospitare i più grandi eventi sportivi dei prossimi anni: i mondiali di calcio nel 2014 e le Olimpiadi nel 2016. Nel dicembre 2008, con la giustificazione di voler raggiungere misure di sicurezza adeguate ad ospitare questi eventi, la città ha dato vita al processo di “pacificazione” delle favelas. Questo processo consiste nell’occupazione militare di aree urbane che per decenni sono state dominate dai comandos del narco-traffico.
Nelle favelas pacificate però non si è verificata una netta sostituzione tra metodi violenti di gestione del territorio, adoperati da parte delle gang della droga, e metodi non violenti adoperati da parte della polizia. Questo articolo cerca di rispondere alla scomoda domanda che i ricercatori sociali hanno evitato di porsi in modo diretto dal momento in cui è iniziato il processo di pacificazione: i residenti delle favelas percepiscono come più accettabile il dominio delle gang rispetto all’attuale occupazione militare?
Parole chiave: Pacificazione, Favelas, Rio de Janeiro, Consapevolezza Giuridica, Violenza
Key Words: Pacification, Favelas, Rio de Janeiro, Legal Consciousness, Violence
Through a review of existing literature about Rio de Janeiro's favelas, the author demonstrates ... more Through a review of existing literature about Rio de Janeiro's favelas, the author demonstrates how territorialisation of social exclusion plays a decisive role in increase and delimitate violence within more disadvantaged urban areas. Furthermore, this contribution shows how poverty's criminalisation carries out a legitimating function towards social.
inequality and police violence against socially excluded categories.
LA NUOVA FASE DELLA GUERRA ALLE DROGHE A RIO DE JANEIRO: POLIZIA E SOGGEZIONE CRIMINALE NELLE FAV... more LA NUOVA FASE DELLA GUERRA ALLE DROGHE A RIO DE JANEIRO: POLIZIA E SOGGEZIONE CRIMINALE NELLE FAVELAS PACIFICATE 1. Introduzione. -2. Soggezione criminale e guerra alle droghe. -3. Le Unità di polizia pacificatrice. -3.1. Nuova soggezione criminale nelle favelas pacificate. -3.2. Dal sospetto legittimo al solito sospetto. -3.3. Accettazione, resistenza e nuova soggezione criminale. -4. Conclusioni.
Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología, 2017
This article analyzes the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs) which, beginning
in 2008, took over contr... more This article analyzes the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs) which, beginning
in 2008, took over control of some of the favelas in Rio de Janeiro that were
previously ruled by armed drugs gangs. Local authorities have implemented a
“community and proximity police” program, in order to attain pacification and
put an end to a violent and militarized approach to policing in marginalized urban
areas. However, contrary to the institutional rhetoric, the pacification of the
favelas has manifested itself as a militarized occupation with clear limits on its
territorial reach and effectiveness. An analysis of police strategies and practices
shows that the UPPs have not sought to convince the residents of the favelas
to regard them as a legitimate force, a fact which in turn has been responsible
for the major failure of the project: it has failed to put an end to the power of
the gangs in these pacified territories. Therefore, this article contributes to the
debate on the legitimacy of the police, one of the key subjects of the “policing
studies” undertaken in the field of social sciences. Our observations are
the result of a an ethnographic study of five months, during which the author
observed the daily work of the policemen of three UPPs and conducted 93 indepth
interviews with them and 25 with residents of the pacified favelas.
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Books by Sebastian Saborio
Journal by Sebastian Saborio
Published articles and chapters by Sebastian Saborio
To understand if the authority of drug dealing groups is considered legitimate by the local population of Rincon Grande de Pavas, a set of impoverished neighborhoods of capital of Costa Rica, the author carried out research between March 2019 and March 2020. During the field work the author realized 67 in deep interviews, mainly with residents of the analyzed area. The results show that drug dealing groups are not considered legitims by the residents, mainly because they do not offer them concrete benefits and impose their rules in an authoritative way by using violence.
This chapter presents the results of the study of Rincon Grande of Pavas, a set of neighborhoods in the capital of Costa Rica. The research analysed the territorialisation processes of the drug-dealing groups to understand if they control the territory in which they are located. Aspects such as the structure of the groups, the imposition of a “law of silence” regarding criminal activity, the control of muggings, and the surveillance of the drug-dealing spots show the limits and scopes of the drug dealers’ territorialisation in the studied area. The results show that, in contrast with other Latin American contexts -for example Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), where the criminal groups control most of the favelas- in Rincon Grande of Pavas territorialisation processes are limited and mostly aim to guarantee the drug-dealing activity. Criminal groups do not try to manage other daily life aspects of the communities in which they are located, having limited capacity to delimitate the territory in which they exercise their power or administer political and economic aspects that do not involve drug-dealing. From a local development perspective, it is important to understand if marginalized urban neighbourhoods are controlled or not by criminal groups since this can affect the feasibility and success of public policies and social programs.
Objective: There are no studies in Costa Rica about police control over drug dealing in marginalized urban areas, and its consequences with regards to the relation between the police forces and the local population. This article seeks to bridge this gap and, to do so, analyzes the case of Rincon Grande of Pavas.
Methodology: In order to reach the conclusions presented in this article, the author uses 67 in depth interviews carried out mainly with residents of the analyzed area between March 2019 and March 2020, and a focus group with five police officers in February 2019.
Results: Results show that, according to the residents of Rincon Grande of Pavas, police in this area in general is ineffective and, regarding drug dealing, has an active participation in illegal markets and makes an excessive and indiscriminate use of force. These are the elements that produce the most aversion among the inhabitants of the area, thus reducing the legitimacy of police forces.
This article demonstrates that the police use two strategies, executed by governments, to control socially excluded territories and persons: the imposition of force and the search for consensus. The former is carried through employing securitized and repressive rhetoric and practices that tend to produce more exclusion or increase pre-existing exclusionary conditions. The latter, in contrast, through more democratic practices
whose main goal is to increase the population’s acceptance towards the police force and their actions. The text shows the correlation and co dependence between these two strategies, given that the police cannot solely be repressive or looking for consensus among the people they control. To achieve this result, the author sets a dialogue between the classics of police studies and more recent research results, in particular those based on the analysis of the social reality of Latin American countries and other contexts of the Global South.
De tal manera, los autores plantean que la llegada masiva de droga a la localidad de Pavas llevó a estas agrupaciones a un mayor uso de la violencia para resolver conflictos y a estructurarse más, pasando de ser pandillas a lo que hoy en día las autoridades denominan “mini-cárteles criollos”. El artículo plantea un análisis de las etapas del conflicto entre los grupos criminales y relaciona diferentes aspectos tales como las características socioeconómicas del contexto analizado y los distintos actores involucrados en las luchas por controlar los puntos de venta y compra de estupefacientes.
Abstract This article analyses the phenomena of territorial control that is carried on by small scale drug trafficking groups in Latin American cities. It shows that existing publications on this topic take for granted what "territorial control" is, but end up referring to different social processes. Leaning in the concepts of territory, territoriality and territorialization, the author defines which elements shape the different modalities of territorial control implemented by small scale drug trafficking groups. In this way, he provides an analytical tool composed by different indicators: who are the subjects controlled by drug gangs, what is the extension, modality and objectives of territorial control and how do these groups influence political and associative life as well as other spheres of everyday life of the communities in which they are located.
This article analyses the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs) of Rio de Janeiro which, sin-ce 2008, have taken control of some of the favelas that were previously dominated by highly armed criminal groups. Through both Mbembe’s concept of “necropolitics” and Neocleous’ one of “pacification”, it will be demonstrated that in these spaces po-lice control is strongly marked by its colonial past. In particular, during the last forty years it has become clear that, for those who have governed the city, the life of the inhabitants of the favelas has no value by itself and that the decision of letting them live or die is subordinated to economic interests. Before the pacification process, local authorities, supported by public opinion, encouraged police lethality within the favelas, while the UPPs’ presence was characterized by an attempt to hide police’s necropower in these territories and by the willingness to transform the image of the residents with the intention of supporting processes of attraction of international ca-pital that the city had implemented in the last decade. To conclude, the article will look into the reasons that brought UPPs’ agents to consider that their main mission is that of “civilizing” the favela population. The analysis proposed in this article is the result of an ethnographic study mainly developed with members of three different Pacifying Police Units between 2013 and 2015.
Palabras clave: Violencia, Narcotráfico, Narcomenudeo, Costa Rica, Estado de la cuestión.
Abstract
In Costa Rica the existing knowledge about narcoviolence, the violence related to drug trafficking and local drug-dealing, is sparse and very much fragmented. This article aims to show what is, at a national level, the state of the art on this topic. Unifying the existing knowledge on narcoviolence makes it possible to offer an analysis and synthesis that can be useful to those that, in the public sector and in civil society, want to understand what the main characteristics of this phenomenon are to then implement new solutions. In particular, we explain the country's understanding of organized crime, what we know about the impact that international drug trafficking has on the national context, how the local drug-dealing groups are organized in urban-marginalized communities, and what the social causes of this problem are. Secondly, the existing gaps in the literature are indicated, demonstrating possible routes for future academic research.
http://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.3240/78482
In 2008, the local government of Rio de Janeiro began the implementation of the Pacifying Police Units (Upps) program in the city’s favelas, Brazil’s informal settlements. The program was first promoted as a new community police initiative, but ultimately came to be rebranded as a proximity policing program. The purpose of this article is to explain this shift and how community policing and proximity practices have being implemented. Data collected from an ethnographic study support the analysis of the relations with community members, decentralization of police powers, prevention of crime and delivery of social services inside the pacified favelas.
Rio de Janeiro si sta preparando ad ospitare i più grandi eventi sportivi dei prossimi anni: i mondiali di calcio nel 2014 e le Olimpiadi nel 2016. Nel dicembre 2008, con la giustificazione di voler raggiungere misure di sicurezza adeguate ad ospitare questi eventi, la città ha dato vita al processo di “pacificazione” delle favelas. Questo processo consiste nell’occupazione militare di aree urbane che per decenni sono state dominate dai comandos del narco-traffico.
Nelle favelas pacificate però non si è verificata una netta sostituzione tra metodi violenti di gestione del territorio, adoperati da parte delle gang della droga, e metodi non violenti adoperati da parte della polizia. Questo articolo cerca di rispondere alla scomoda domanda che i ricercatori sociali hanno evitato di porsi in modo diretto dal momento in cui è iniziato il processo di pacificazione: i residenti delle favelas percepiscono come più accettabile il dominio delle gang rispetto all’attuale occupazione militare?
Parole chiave: Pacificazione, Favelas, Rio de Janeiro, Consapevolezza Giuridica, Violenza
Key Words: Pacification, Favelas, Rio de Janeiro, Legal Consciousness, Violence
inequality and police violence against socially excluded categories.
in 2008, took over control of some of the favelas in Rio de Janeiro that were
previously ruled by armed drugs gangs. Local authorities have implemented a
“community and proximity police” program, in order to attain pacification and
put an end to a violent and militarized approach to policing in marginalized urban
areas. However, contrary to the institutional rhetoric, the pacification of the
favelas has manifested itself as a militarized occupation with clear limits on its
territorial reach and effectiveness. An analysis of police strategies and practices
shows that the UPPs have not sought to convince the residents of the favelas
to regard them as a legitimate force, a fact which in turn has been responsible
for the major failure of the project: it has failed to put an end to the power of
the gangs in these pacified territories. Therefore, this article contributes to the
debate on the legitimacy of the police, one of the key subjects of the “policing
studies” undertaken in the field of social sciences. Our observations are
the result of a an ethnographic study of five months, during which the author
observed the daily work of the policemen of three UPPs and conducted 93 indepth
interviews with them and 25 with residents of the pacified favelas.
To understand if the authority of drug dealing groups is considered legitimate by the local population of Rincon Grande de Pavas, a set of impoverished neighborhoods of capital of Costa Rica, the author carried out research between March 2019 and March 2020. During the field work the author realized 67 in deep interviews, mainly with residents of the analyzed area. The results show that drug dealing groups are not considered legitims by the residents, mainly because they do not offer them concrete benefits and impose their rules in an authoritative way by using violence.
This chapter presents the results of the study of Rincon Grande of Pavas, a set of neighborhoods in the capital of Costa Rica. The research analysed the territorialisation processes of the drug-dealing groups to understand if they control the territory in which they are located. Aspects such as the structure of the groups, the imposition of a “law of silence” regarding criminal activity, the control of muggings, and the surveillance of the drug-dealing spots show the limits and scopes of the drug dealers’ territorialisation in the studied area. The results show that, in contrast with other Latin American contexts -for example Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), where the criminal groups control most of the favelas- in Rincon Grande of Pavas territorialisation processes are limited and mostly aim to guarantee the drug-dealing activity. Criminal groups do not try to manage other daily life aspects of the communities in which they are located, having limited capacity to delimitate the territory in which they exercise their power or administer political and economic aspects that do not involve drug-dealing. From a local development perspective, it is important to understand if marginalized urban neighbourhoods are controlled or not by criminal groups since this can affect the feasibility and success of public policies and social programs.
Objective: There are no studies in Costa Rica about police control over drug dealing in marginalized urban areas, and its consequences with regards to the relation between the police forces and the local population. This article seeks to bridge this gap and, to do so, analyzes the case of Rincon Grande of Pavas.
Methodology: In order to reach the conclusions presented in this article, the author uses 67 in depth interviews carried out mainly with residents of the analyzed area between March 2019 and March 2020, and a focus group with five police officers in February 2019.
Results: Results show that, according to the residents of Rincon Grande of Pavas, police in this area in general is ineffective and, regarding drug dealing, has an active participation in illegal markets and makes an excessive and indiscriminate use of force. These are the elements that produce the most aversion among the inhabitants of the area, thus reducing the legitimacy of police forces.
This article demonstrates that the police use two strategies, executed by governments, to control socially excluded territories and persons: the imposition of force and the search for consensus. The former is carried through employing securitized and repressive rhetoric and practices that tend to produce more exclusion or increase pre-existing exclusionary conditions. The latter, in contrast, through more democratic practices
whose main goal is to increase the population’s acceptance towards the police force and their actions. The text shows the correlation and co dependence between these two strategies, given that the police cannot solely be repressive or looking for consensus among the people they control. To achieve this result, the author sets a dialogue between the classics of police studies and more recent research results, in particular those based on the analysis of the social reality of Latin American countries and other contexts of the Global South.
De tal manera, los autores plantean que la llegada masiva de droga a la localidad de Pavas llevó a estas agrupaciones a un mayor uso de la violencia para resolver conflictos y a estructurarse más, pasando de ser pandillas a lo que hoy en día las autoridades denominan “mini-cárteles criollos”. El artículo plantea un análisis de las etapas del conflicto entre los grupos criminales y relaciona diferentes aspectos tales como las características socioeconómicas del contexto analizado y los distintos actores involucrados en las luchas por controlar los puntos de venta y compra de estupefacientes.
Abstract This article analyses the phenomena of territorial control that is carried on by small scale drug trafficking groups in Latin American cities. It shows that existing publications on this topic take for granted what "territorial control" is, but end up referring to different social processes. Leaning in the concepts of territory, territoriality and territorialization, the author defines which elements shape the different modalities of territorial control implemented by small scale drug trafficking groups. In this way, he provides an analytical tool composed by different indicators: who are the subjects controlled by drug gangs, what is the extension, modality and objectives of territorial control and how do these groups influence political and associative life as well as other spheres of everyday life of the communities in which they are located.
This article analyses the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs) of Rio de Janeiro which, sin-ce 2008, have taken control of some of the favelas that were previously dominated by highly armed criminal groups. Through both Mbembe’s concept of “necropolitics” and Neocleous’ one of “pacification”, it will be demonstrated that in these spaces po-lice control is strongly marked by its colonial past. In particular, during the last forty years it has become clear that, for those who have governed the city, the life of the inhabitants of the favelas has no value by itself and that the decision of letting them live or die is subordinated to economic interests. Before the pacification process, local authorities, supported by public opinion, encouraged police lethality within the favelas, while the UPPs’ presence was characterized by an attempt to hide police’s necropower in these territories and by the willingness to transform the image of the residents with the intention of supporting processes of attraction of international ca-pital that the city had implemented in the last decade. To conclude, the article will look into the reasons that brought UPPs’ agents to consider that their main mission is that of “civilizing” the favela population. The analysis proposed in this article is the result of an ethnographic study mainly developed with members of three different Pacifying Police Units between 2013 and 2015.
Palabras clave: Violencia, Narcotráfico, Narcomenudeo, Costa Rica, Estado de la cuestión.
Abstract
In Costa Rica the existing knowledge about narcoviolence, the violence related to drug trafficking and local drug-dealing, is sparse and very much fragmented. This article aims to show what is, at a national level, the state of the art on this topic. Unifying the existing knowledge on narcoviolence makes it possible to offer an analysis and synthesis that can be useful to those that, in the public sector and in civil society, want to understand what the main characteristics of this phenomenon are to then implement new solutions. In particular, we explain the country's understanding of organized crime, what we know about the impact that international drug trafficking has on the national context, how the local drug-dealing groups are organized in urban-marginalized communities, and what the social causes of this problem are. Secondly, the existing gaps in the literature are indicated, demonstrating possible routes for future academic research.
http://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.3240/78482
In 2008, the local government of Rio de Janeiro began the implementation of the Pacifying Police Units (Upps) program in the city’s favelas, Brazil’s informal settlements. The program was first promoted as a new community police initiative, but ultimately came to be rebranded as a proximity policing program. The purpose of this article is to explain this shift and how community policing and proximity practices have being implemented. Data collected from an ethnographic study support the analysis of the relations with community members, decentralization of police powers, prevention of crime and delivery of social services inside the pacified favelas.
Rio de Janeiro si sta preparando ad ospitare i più grandi eventi sportivi dei prossimi anni: i mondiali di calcio nel 2014 e le Olimpiadi nel 2016. Nel dicembre 2008, con la giustificazione di voler raggiungere misure di sicurezza adeguate ad ospitare questi eventi, la città ha dato vita al processo di “pacificazione” delle favelas. Questo processo consiste nell’occupazione militare di aree urbane che per decenni sono state dominate dai comandos del narco-traffico.
Nelle favelas pacificate però non si è verificata una netta sostituzione tra metodi violenti di gestione del territorio, adoperati da parte delle gang della droga, e metodi non violenti adoperati da parte della polizia. Questo articolo cerca di rispondere alla scomoda domanda che i ricercatori sociali hanno evitato di porsi in modo diretto dal momento in cui è iniziato il processo di pacificazione: i residenti delle favelas percepiscono come più accettabile il dominio delle gang rispetto all’attuale occupazione militare?
Parole chiave: Pacificazione, Favelas, Rio de Janeiro, Consapevolezza Giuridica, Violenza
Key Words: Pacification, Favelas, Rio de Janeiro, Legal Consciousness, Violence
inequality and police violence against socially excluded categories.
in 2008, took over control of some of the favelas in Rio de Janeiro that were
previously ruled by armed drugs gangs. Local authorities have implemented a
“community and proximity police” program, in order to attain pacification and
put an end to a violent and militarized approach to policing in marginalized urban
areas. However, contrary to the institutional rhetoric, the pacification of the
favelas has manifested itself as a militarized occupation with clear limits on its
territorial reach and effectiveness. An analysis of police strategies and practices
shows that the UPPs have not sought to convince the residents of the favelas
to regard them as a legitimate force, a fact which in turn has been responsible
for the major failure of the project: it has failed to put an end to the power of
the gangs in these pacified territories. Therefore, this article contributes to the
debate on the legitimacy of the police, one of the key subjects of the “policing
studies” undertaken in the field of social sciences. Our observations are
the result of a an ethnographic study of five months, during which the author
observed the daily work of the policemen of three UPPs and conducted 93 indepth
interviews with them and 25 with residents of the pacified favelas.
que, contrariamente a lo que afirman las instituciones locales, la pacificación de las favelas no tiene como objetivo principal “llevar la paz” dentro de territorios urbanos caracterizados por altos índices de violencia. Aquí se sostiene que las UPPs hacen parte de una estrategia más amplia de reducción de la visibilidad de la violencia y, en consecuencia, de la fama de Río de Janeiro de ser una ciudad peligrosa.
Creating the Image of a Safe City: Reduction of Visible Violence in
Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:
Recently, a new policy of public security has been instated in Rio de Janeiro, aiming for the pacification of the “favelas”. This policy gives control to the UPP (Pacifying Police Units) of some favelas occupied by heavily armed groups. This article shows that, contrary to what local institutions declare, the pacification processes in the favelas do not actually seek “bringing peace” to these urban territories characterized by a high index of violence. In this article, it is argued that the UPPs are part of a bigger strategy which aims to reduce the visibility of violence, and, as a result, the common perception of Rio de Janeiro as a dangerous city.
So far it does not exist a definition of urban violence accepted by the academic community. However, this does not preclude the fact that the concept is abundantly used in social sciences. In most cases, scientific publications use it uncritically as a synonym of crime and homicides. In other cases, some authors propose definitions that do not go beyond a simple description of the characteristics of violence in specific urban settings. However, such descriptions cannot be generalized to other social realities. First, the author’s article explains the importance of verifying the concept’s efficacy through the results of bibliographical analysis; then, it elucidates which are its main limitations and weaknesses. When referring to urban violence, social sciences used to consider mainly those forms of violence that are highly visible and that make possible that a city passed to be identify as violent, reducing people’s perception of safety. The concept’s main problem lies on the fact that it is usually employed to describe the violence of the socially excluded communities that do not have the power to define it. Therefore, its uncritical use can consolidate stigmatized and criminalized depictions of such populations and the territories they reside that can potentially reinforced restrictive and punitive discourses in politics and security