ABSTRACT
The main focus of state violence and of conflict over the extension of citizenship is moving out of the political arena and into the sphere of civil and individual rights. Democratic political systems and procedures have become a reality in such Latin American countries as Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, which until the 1980s were ruled by dictatorships. The Brazilian case makes especially clear the tortuous and often unpredictable paths that may lead to the expansion of citizenship rights and democratization. In the "talk of crime," the image of the criminal is constructed through a combination of various complex elements. Anthropological data suggest that Brazilians of all classes conceive of evil as something that exists in nature and can be controlled only by the labors of culture and reason. Despite some similarities, increased violence and police abuse have had very different effects on the populations of both countries.
