Violence in Rio de Janeiro: Styles of Leisure, Drug Use, and Trafficking

In: International social science journal: ISSJ, Band 53, Heft 3, S. 369-378

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to understand the connections between poverty & drug traffic at the retail level, approaching the devices that provoked economic, social, & political changes in poor neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although one should bear in mind the historical background of the economic, social, & political changes in which violence & drug traffic thrive, the paper focuses on the data obtained in several fieldwork researches, mainly 1997-2000. Data on crimes & social indicators are interpreted in light of the ethnographical material about the styles of drug use & trafficking in three different districts: Copacabana, in the richest zone of the city; Tijuca, in a predominantly middle-class area; & Madureira, in a predominantly poor section. It describes how young favelados are attracted to the dangers & virility ethos of a certain style of drug dealing in which many lose their lives. 1 Photograph, 12 References. Adapted from the source document.