ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how state violence in Brazil can be understood in a historical continuum. It then discusses the securitization of the impoverished population in contemporary Brazil and focuses on the mano dura strategies of the Brazilian state as a reflection of the historically perverse state, which translates into important recent policies with great impact on the population, such as the Guarantee of Law and Order military operations against crime as well as arms liberalization policies under the Jair Bolsonaro administration. Currently, Brazil ranks as one of the most violent countries in the world and its citizens experience the collateral effects of a society with high levels of criminal violence. Citizens also endure state violence due to mano dura policies, especially. While in 1964–1985 the institutionalized approach was clear and victimized mostly critics of the regime, in the following years Brazil witnessed an increase in armed social violence putting in the clash between gangs and the state.
