Espaço relacional dos homicídios nos estados da região norte do Brasil: análise das ações governamentais na redução de homicídios

Abstract

This thesis contributes to the debate on violent crime, particularly homicides, by analyzing the relationship between social, economic, and governmental factors and their influences on homicide rates in the states of the Northern region of Brazil from 2012 to 2019. To this end, the principles of Bourdieu's social space and Social Disorganization Theory serve as the theoretical basis. The main purpose of this research was to elucidate the complex underlying interactions of homicide rates in relational space and why some states are more violent than others in certain years. Moreover, it aims to identify the key social, economic, and political drivers influencing these rates. Multiple Correspondence Analysis, a statistical technique, was employed to reveal hidden patterns and relationships among variables. The results and discussions are structured into three axes, projected onto a factorial plane and represented by scattered points in a cloud, each indicating distances and proximities among social, economic, governmental actions, and homicides. The first axis, social disorganization, drug trafficking, and homicide, is subdivided into right and left sides. The right side stands out for presenting lower homicide rates but higher socioeconomic inequalities. The left side shows higher homicide rates, with less seizure of weapons and drugs, and greater investment in security. The second and third axes are also subdivided into two sides, characterized as upper and lower sides. In the case of the second axis, the complex relationships between socioeconomic factors and violence show lower homicide rates, higher investments in security, and high rates of incarceration and cocaine seizure on the upper side, despite higher illiteracy and social disorganization, albeit with lower income inequality. The lower side has higher homicide rates, less investment in security, and less incarceration and drug seizure. Additionally, it has higher income inequality, more single mothers with children under 15, and more young women who are mothers. In the third axis, which addresses crime, social disorganization, education, and demography, the upper side exhibits lower homicide rates, fewer firearm seizures, higher expenditures on public security, more incarceration, and more concentration of disadvantage. It also has more illiteracy and more out-of-school children. The lower side has higher homicide rates, more firearm seizures, less spending on public security, and less incarceration. The research demonstrates that crime is a complex problem. The connections between social inequality, concentration of disadvantage, and violence are evident. The results indicate the urgency of repressive, preventive, and public policy actions that not only improve security but also promote social equality as an effective means of reducing homicidal violence in the states of the Northern region of Brazil.