Brazil and Drugs overview

Brazil

The illicit drugs industry fuels Brazil's tremendous social and criminal violence problems. The levels of violence related to drug trafficking in urban centres are comparable to a war zone. Guns kill more young people below the age of 18 each year in Rio de Janeiro than in Colombia. Many inhabitants of favelas are, in fact, living in occupied territories dominated by self-appointed gang lords, while the state is largely absent in procuring security and adequate social and housing conditions. In the rural North-East of Brazil, in the socalled "marijuana polygon", the levels of violence are sometimes even higher due to brutal land disputes and conflicts related to the illicit cultivation of marijuana. There are 40,000 rural workers in marijuana plantations with limited options seek or are forced into the drug trade as a strategy for survival. Many are forced to work there by criminal gangs.

Adding to the problem is widespread police corruption and outright collaboration with drug gangs. The fight against violence in Brazil is characterised by an indiscriminate and abusive violence and disrespect for human rights on the part of police forces operating with impunity. The consequences of drug policies and the businesslike organisation of the productive chain of drugs have had negative effects on Brazilian society. Of immediate concern are the high levels of homicides - mostly among poor black men between 15 and 24 years of age. The 'war against crime' only results in an escalation of violence and the conclusion seems clear that it cannot be left to the security forces without a thoroughgoing reform of the police. Militarisation of the drug war, especially in poor neighbourhoods and rural areas, will backfire unless enforcement programmes are designed carefully in combination with comprehensive policies that address social segregation and the extreme levels of inequality in Brazil. In the region, Brazil will only be dragged more into a drug war that has failed to show any significant results.

TNI on Brazil

• Smokable cocaine and crack in Brazil: A quick scan of the market, TNI research paper, October 2006
• 'Paco' Under Scrutiny: The cocaine base paste market in the Southern Cone (Drugs and Conflict Debate paper 14, October 2006). The report examines the origin, characteristics and impact of the explosive increase in consumption of cocaine base paste and crack in urban areas.
• A Pointless War. Drugs and Violence in Brazil TNI Drugs & Conflict Debate Paper 11, November 2004
  In this issue of Drugs & Conflict, focused in Brazil, the background to the drugs-related violence in the North-East marijuana cultivation area, as well as in the favelas in Rio, is described. The new drug law that is being evaluated in Congress is also reviewed. Although the new law is a step forward for making a clear distinction between a trafficker and a user, the question remains whether that will effectively address the problem give the limited scope of the new law.
  New Drug Law Project: Echoes from the Dictatorship, Luiz Paulo Guanabara (Updated, edited, and revised version of "New Drug Law: limited advances")

Links

• Koinonia: Boletim Drogas e Violência no Campo
• Psicotropicus
• Instituto Brasileiro Giovanni Falcone (IBGF)