Structural Racism: Police Approach And Selective Violence In Bahia

Abstract

This article addresses the racism ingrained in Brazilian society since its beginnings, primarily with the genocide of the indigenous population in Colonial Brazil, who were subsequently replaced by the black population forcibly brought from Africa to be enslaved. This is the reason why contemporary Brazilian society exhibits structural racism, a phenomenon that reverberates in daily life, notably in public institutions responsible for formal social control, specifically the Military Police in the process of police stops, exhibiting selectivity in behaviors considered suspicious depending on the individual being approached. This fact will be demonstrated through cases that occurred in Bahia. This article explores themes of paramount social and legal importance, such as racism in Brazil, criminal law and social control, based on the American labeling approach theory and aspects of critical criminology, in addition to considerations about public security institutions provided for in the Federal Constitution, complementing with the dual function of the Military Police and its selective action in the State of Bahia. Furthermore, the research includes data that proves the condition of black people in socially subordinate positions, whether due to the illiteracy rate or the minority occupation of management/director positions, a consequence of Brazilian structural racism. The attached data also proves that the black population is the one that suffers the most deaths at the hands of the Military Police in Bahia, through police stops that result in summary executions, given the high use of lethal force by the aforementioned institution.