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The Pursuit of the ‘Dead Bandit’: A Decolonial Analysis of the Persecution of the Marginalized in Brazil

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Abstract

This article examines how the persecution of dissenting and marginalized populations in Brazil has intensified under the banner of crime control since the rise of the far-right to mainstream politics. Through decolonial lenses (Walsh and Mignolo 2018; Dimou 2021), it explores the ways in which anti-human rights discourses and Brazil’s myth of racial democracy relate to the legacy of colonialism in the experiences of urban poor and racialized communities. The aims of this work are to interrogate social relations and critically engage with the intensification of authoritarian neoliberal forms of governance. Reflecting on examples, such as the persecution and criminalization of political opponents, this article sheds light on examples of how coloniality is continuously reproduced in the politics of backlash that have become globally prevalent. The politics of backlash, as a variant of contested politics, often fuelled by anger and resentment, are central in the construction of retrograde and discriminatory transformations (Alter and Zürn 2020). By examining cases in Brazil, the article offers an analysis of how ‘coloniality’ (Quijano 1992; Walsh and Mignolo 2018) enriches critical understandings of the inequalities and discourses that operate to dispossess, silence, persecute and criminalize thousands of people.

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Notes

  1. This is not to say that the threats faced by the marginalized are the same as the threats faced by white progressive activists. As argued earlier, harm and violence are heterogeneously experienced.

  2. This is not to say that bandits or drug traffickers are well-liked Robin Hoods in Brazil. In fact, studies show that despite these complex manifestations of roles, residents of poor communities often resist, fear and reject the arbitrary powers of drug traffickers (Marques 2021; Cavalcanti 2020).

  3. Cavalcanti (2017c) for a discussion of gun control in Brazil.

  4. For a wider discussion of the demise of the PT and the complex set of events that preceded Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment and Lula’s incarceration, see Saad-Filho and Morais (2018).

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and also Deanna Dadusc, Raphael Schlembach, Kepa Artaraz, Robin Dunford, Peter Squires, Lambros Fatsis and Leo Ostronoff for reading and commenting on previous drafts of this text. Thanks to the British Academy for supporting this research [2020-2022/grant number KFSBSF\100004].

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  1. Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of Brighton, Watson Building, room 203, Falmer, BN1 9PH, UK

    Roxana Pessoa Cavalcanti

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Cavalcanti, R.P. The Pursuit of the ‘Dead Bandit’: A Decolonial Analysis of the Persecution of the Marginalized in Brazil. Crit Crim 30, 757–775 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-022-09658-5

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