The Nature of Gangs in Brazil and Colombia Essay - 1939 Words

No country is devoid of violence, but it is especially prevalent in Latin America. The Organization of American States labeled violence in Latin America as an â€Å"epidemic, a plague that kills more people than AIDS or any other known epidemic† (Carroll). Brazil and Colombia are two countries that have been shaped by gang violence; both are gripped by some of the largest, most violent, and institutionalized gangs in the world. In Donna Goldstein’s ethnography of life in a Brazilian shantytown, Laughter Out of Place, the power and prevalence of gang violence is apparent. In Colombia, gangs flourish nationwide and have direct consequences on the country’s economic, political, and social structure. Despite existing in entirely different†¦show more content†¦Thus, Brazilian gangs gained relevance and power, especially in the poor favela communities, where young boys are hired to be the bottom of the gang hierarchy, to pick up and deliver the product. As Jan ice Perlman describes of the relevance of gangs in these poor communities, gangs and their leaders are seen by the community at large to be the only ones with the â€Å"guts† to stand up and challenge the police and the government (2010:179). She also discusses the idea of â€Å"parallel power,† or the image of the dealers as the protectors of the community (2010:188). Such a description of gangs in favelas is corroborated by Donna Goldstein’s ethnography, Laughter Out of Place. In Laughter Out of Place, the lives of Felicidade Eterna’s residents offer a clear picture into the nature of Brazilian gangs, which flourish for two main reasons: to fuel drug consumption and to serve in functions at which the government fails. First, gang activity is fueled by middle-class and elite drug consumption, in addition to the international drug trade (Goldstein 2003:179). There is a large market for the drugs that the gangs traffic, making the work of gangs extremely profitable. Beyond trafficking illegal substances, favelas rely on the gangs as they serve valuable functions in the community, essentially functioning as a parallel state, acting in functions that the government should, but does not. There is a consensus among the population that theShow MoreRelatedTrafficking And Organized Crime During Latin America1859 Words   |  8 Pagesmilitary juntas took the power to defend la patria against communist rebels, generating bloodshed in Guatemala, El Salvador, Pe ru, Colombia, Chile and elsewhere. One characteristic of this conflict was the association of the communism with the peasants and rural workers, opposed to the military as defenders of the interests of power groups. 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But the threats [from London’s East End drugs gangs] are much more sinister. The word is fed back that if the business is cut off, they will follow you home, go for your family, stab you