Violência homicida em Alagoas: usos do território e desigualdade racial

Abstract

Homicidal violence in Brazil is a central theme in the country's political and social scenario. From the beginning of the 21st century, the gravitational center moved from the southeast region to the north region and mainly to the Brazilian northeast. Within this context, the state of Alagoas stood out for several years in a row, occupying the top of the rankings regarding homicide rates. However, although the current scenario has undergone a significant change, where levels of homicidal violence, even though still high, no longer place the state among the most dangerous in the region, another statistic comes to light and draws attention. The probability of a black person being a victim of homicide in the state of Alagoas is many times greater than the chance of a not black person being a victim of the same crime. This condition, in which the state has occupied the top position among all units of the federation for several years, raises a series of questions. Thus, this master's thesis sought to understand, in the light of geography, the socio-territorial processes that led to this currently observed condition. To this end, the research was based on a bibliographic survey that aimed at the theoretical deepening of the referred theme, followed by a documentary research in agencies and entities that work with data on homicidal violence. Through the data obtained, it was possible to elaborate rates, graphs and maps that helped in the understanding of the problem. Through the analysis of the preponderant factors of homicidal violence on national and in a state scale, in line with the understanding of the socio-spatial formation of the state, it was possible to understand that racial disparities are reflections of a socio-territorially fragile state, reverb of a long cycle of dependence on large estates and monoculture, which in turn ended up bequeathing socio-spatial exclusion to the black portion of the population, the root of homicidal violence.