Facts that have contributed to urban violence in Brazil - Research Paper Example

?There are various factors that have contributed to urban violence in Brazil. For instance, the levels of poverty are alarmingly High in parts of Brazil especially in the urban sprawl of Sao Paulo. This has led to the emergence of organized crime groups and these occasionally clash with the police who try to maintain peace and tranquillity. According to Graham, “In 2012, 94 police officers have been killed in the city — twice as many as in all of 2011.” Graham also states that “Between July and September, on-duty police officers killed 119 people in the metropolitan area.” These killings are related to crime and the statistics portray a gloomy picture about the real crime stories obtaining in the Latin American cities. The main problem is that the rate of poverty is high in urban areas that are neglected by the government. Apparently, the organized crime groups as well as the poorly paid members of the police force stay in these areas. The poor police officers living in such areas end up being targets of organized crime groups though they are also suffering and living in abject poverty like anyone else living in the area. The poor urban areas in Brazil are home to thousands of immigrants and the situation has been compounded by the proliferation of gangs who deal in drugs (Graham). It is quite difficult for the police officers to execute their duties since they are even scared of exposing their identity for fear of being victimized or even killed by the members of the organized crime gangs. Unfortunately, some police officers have become members of the crime gang syndicates as they try to supplement their meager earnings as well as to solicit for protection from the terror gangs so that they are not attacked as well as their families. On the other hand, it can be noted that Roberto Bricano Leon, Andres Villavecas & Alberto Concha Eastman posit to the effect that Brazil reports the highest rates of homicide as a result of the fact that it has a high proportion of urban population and high rate of poverty. The researchers also note that “the factors related to violence include social inequalities, lack of employment opportunities, urban segregation, a culture of masculinity, local drug markets, and the availability of firearms and widespread use of alcohol.” This situation is compounded by inefficient judicial system especially in Brazil given that it fosters impunity. People can wantonly commit heinous crimes like murder but they can still get away with it. At least, if there were effective judicial systems in this country, the situation was likely to be under control. The study also notes that the majority of young males aged between 15 and 24 years especially in Brazil are the most perpetrators of violence and they are also the prime targets. The main cause of this undesirable trend is related to high unemployment rates which significantly contribute to high levels of poverty. Unfortunately, the government is doing very little in order to address the socio-economic factors that lead to crime such as unemployment. Most people resort to drug abuse and this causes them to indulge in serious crimes that have often resulted in loss of life. Murray Joseph, Daniel Ricardo de Castro & Khan Tulio state that “between 1980 and 2010 there were 1 million homicides in Brazil. Dramatic increases in homicide rates followed rises in inequality, more young men in the population, greater availability of firearms, and increased drug use.” The most important aspect portrayed the authors of this study is that Brazil has the fifth largest population in the world: 197 million people according to the (World Bank 2012b). Apparently, 30% of whom are under age 18 as reported by Unicef 2012. With a gross national income of about (US$ 11,500 per capita in 2011,World Bank 2012b), Brazil continues to have one of the highest rates of inequality in the world. Reaserach has also shown that about 10.9% of the nation's population live in poor conditions of less than $2 per day and the youths are most impacted. Research has also shown that Brazil faces numerous challenges in its attempt to meet the needs of the whole population in terms of educational, income as well as healthcare. As such, the most affected members of the population end up resorting to violence in order to make ends meet. However, this worsens the situation since crime does not pay but it causes misery among the citizens. To a certain extent, disarmament legislation significantly helped to reduce homicide rates in recent years but Brazil appears to have higher levels of general criminal victimization as several other Latin American and North American countries (Murray Joseph, Daniel Ricardo de Castro & Khan Tulio). The rate of drug abuse among the youths in Brazil has significantly increased over the recent years. It can be noted that since 1990, the growth of the Brazilian prison population has increased and this has resulted in it being recorded as constituting the fourth largest prison population in the world. The youths in Brazil are the most hit since they constitute the bulk of the population. In order for them to eke a living under these harsh conditions, the youths are often forced to resort to violence and crime and this has contributed towards destabilization of peace in this particular country. According to Muggah Robert (8), “Today’s cities are centres of multi-layered violence. Criminal and organized violence, associated with the drug trade in some countries have become entwined with national politics.” The emergence of gangs and militias has significantly come to replace the public authority but this situation has not helped much. The rapid urbanization in different parts of the globe has seen an increase in the cases of crimes in many areas since the resources especially in urban areas are not adequate to cater for the needs of all the citizens. Muggah posits to the effect that Brazil has also not spared from this trend of urbanization (37). Unfortunately, this trend has also seen a rapid increase in the cases of violence as a result of high levels of poverty that prevail in this particular country. In order to address this negative development, there is need for a shift in policy formulation and implementation by the government. This view is also supported by Minamisava Ruth et al who posit to the effect that there is need for social intervention in order to reduce violence and premature mortality in Brazil. The study of the above mentioned authors state that there are large inequalities in Brazil and they have contributed to a large gap of poverty which drives people into committing crime. A critical analysis of the studies that document the factors that have contributed to urban violence in Brazil show that the police and the government have tried to put some corrective measures to quell the violence but these are not enough since the cases of violence seem to be increasing. For instance, legislation has been enacted in a bid to disarm the civilians but this has not helped the situation. Whilst the police also try to enforce the law, they often find themselves being targeted and victimised by the crime groups in their respective residential places. To a certain extent, it can be seen that the government and the police have significantly contributed to the violence in urban areas in Brazil. Some of the police officers are part of the crime syndicates instead of enforcing laws in a bid to reduce the prevalence of crime and violence cases in Brazil. The state on the other hand has contributed to this kind of state of affairs as a result of the fact that its policies are responsible for the level of inequality that currently prevails in Brazil at the moment. The state should make sure that the needs of the citizens are catered for. This case teaches us the state should be proactive in terms of policy formulation. The state plays a significant role in policy formulation and these policies should be geared towards the upliftment of the welfare of the general populace. With poor policies in place, it becomes difficult for the state to fully exercise its power given that it may not be able to control the citizens. As aptly illustrated in the case of Brazil, the high level of inequality in terms of distribution of wealth among the citizens is the prime cause of poverty among them. As a result of the high levels of poverty prevailing among the citizens, they are left with no choice but to resort to crime and violence in order to eke a living. As such, the state should address the challenges of poverty through employment creation. The state should also promote entrepreneurship among the citizens so that they can work for themselves in a noble way other than committing crimes and violence. The state should also review the judicial system in order to make sure that all perpetrators of violence are brought to book. It is also the prerogative of the state to review the working conditions of the police so as to make sure that they are not complacent at work. Works cited Minamisava Ruth et al. “Spatial clusters of violent deaths in a newly urbanized region of Brazil: highlighting the social disparities.”International journal of health Geographics. . 27 November, 2009. Web. 14 November 2013. Muggah Robert. “Researching the Urban Dilemma: Urbanization, Poverty and Violence.” IDRC. . May 2012. Web. 13 November 2013. Murray Joseph, Daniel Ricardo de Castro & Khan Tulio. “Crime and violence in Brazil: Systematic review of time trends, prevalence rates and risk factors.”Aggress Violent Behavior. (5): 471–483. 2013. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3763365/ September; 18 2013. Web. 13 November 2013. Roberto Bricano Leon, Andres Villavecas & Alberto Concha Eastman. “Understanding the uneven distribution of the incidence of homicide in Latin America.” International Journal of epidemiology. Volume 37. Issue 4. Pp. 751-752. . June 9 2008.Web. 13 November 2013. Willis, Graham. “What’s Killing Brazil’s Police?” The New York Times. . I December 2012. Web. 13 November, 2013. Read More