Download This PaperThe Degradation of the Rule of Law, Endemic Violence and Perpetual Social Injustice in Brazil
School of Economics and Business University of Ljubljana research paper no:13/2020
24 Pages Posted: 21 May 2020
Date Written: April 24, 2020
Abstract
Modern Brazil is plagued by social and economic inequalities, endemic violence, crime, and weak rule of law. Once these narratives become dependent on each other, all aspects must be worked on to change the scenario experienced in the country, of insecurity, fear and lack of opportunities. This paper argues that unprecedented increase in social injustice in Brazil is not the result of short-term measures, but the materialization of a history marked by economic and social inequalities that extend from the colonial period to the present moment and faulty criminal policies that intensified in the mid-1990's. Moreover, current massive incarceration, overcrowding of prisons combined with the lack of human living conditions is turning Brazil into a gigantic, perpetual school of crime. Investment in education that has a direct effect on the decrease of crime rate, must be aligned with the structuring of a new, less repressive and more inclusive punitive policy, to induce criminals not to recur to crime. Paper suggests that essential development in Brazil is possible only if the efficient legal institutions, rule of law, criminal sanctioning based on principles of social justice are available to all citizens.
Keywords: Rule of Law, Development, Social Injustice, Endemic Violence, Massive Incarceration
JEL Classification: C23, C26, C51, K42, O43
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation