A gestão dos ilegalismos enquanto mercado

Notas sobre o combate ao roubo e ao furto de veículos em São Paulo, Brasil

Abstract

In São Paulo, as in other cities in Latin America, crime and illegalism are topics of ample public debate. While some accuse both the state and the police for using violence and lethality as mechanisms to combat crime, others defend a “war on organized crime” narrative that supports and justifies such mechanisms. This article is based on a multimethod research on the car theft and robbery in São Paulo, seeking to analyze interfaces between the field of Public Safety and the production of markets. More than a political field, Public Safety is also a management and economic field, composed of state agents and also segments of civil society and private capital. The management of illegalism produces unequality and violence, especially among the poorest, while, on the other hand, other actors earn a lot of money producing and exploring borders between legal and illegal.