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RESEARCH

 

Tribute to Toninho


The Portuguese version of the book “The State of Peace and the Evolution of Violence – The situation in Latin America”, published by Editora da Unicamp, was launched during a tribute by the University to the mayor of Campinas Antônio da Costa Santos, known as Toninho, who was murdered on September 10th. The ceremony, held on January 10 in the University Council room, was attended by Toninho's family, mayors, state and federal deputies, councilors and representatives of non-governmental organizations committed to the defense of human rights. Then, the plaque was unveiled designating the name of Antônio da Costa Santos to an avenue that connects the hospital complex to the rest of the campus.

Professor Mohamed Habib, from the Coordination of Institutional and International Relations (Cori), stated that Unicamp's initiative adds to other actions by people and entities that believe in the search for a peaceful and supportive society. He recalled that the first year of the new century is being marked by several conflicts, the explosion of urban violence and the deepening of social exclusion in different parts of the world. “This book will serve as a reference for studies to understand and fight against violence. The intention is to popularize information so that society has tools to work on the issue, as the police and government have demonstrated incompetence in solving it”, highlighted the professor.

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Types of violence

Military – Despite the circumstances favorable to demilitarization in Latin America, military spending continues to increase significantly in Brazil, due to the increase in the arms industry, and in Colombia, motivated by the guerrillas, while they are reduced in Argentina, Peru and Venezuela.


Structural – The result of a social system that offers unequal opportunities to its members, the greater the inequality, the greater the degree of violence. AL has the worst inequality rates in the world, despite having managed to improve social indicators between 1950 and 1980, a process interrupted between 1980 and 1990, and which showed a slight improvement in the following years. Considering variables such as infant mortality, life expectancy, literacy, households below the poverty line and inequality in income distribution, Bolivia, Guatemala and Nicaragua have a high level of structural violence, followed by Brazil, the only one considered medium-high. . With low levels of violence, Uruguay and Costa Rica stand out.


Politics – The end of military governments in the Southern Cone and the democratizing trend contributed to the reduction of political violence, although the full democratic regime does not exist in practically any country in the world. Brazil illustrates the problem new democracies face by widening the gap between the state's political improvement and its persistent violation of economic, social and civil rights. New democracies face the challenge of carrying out the second transition, to a more improved democratic state, at the risk of suffering a reversal in the process. Peru, Guatemala and Mexico have high levels of political violence, while Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay and Costa Rica have the lowest levels. Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay are classified as medium-high.


ethnic – Racial discrimination is linked to processes of social exclusion, originating in the formation of the nation-state and the extermination of indigenous people. The highest degree of ethnic violence is in Guatemala, followed by Bolivia, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador. Nicaragua, Colombia, El Salvador, Paraguay, Argentina and Costa Rica have a low level of violence.


Of gender – Defined by structures that perpetuate inequalities between men and women. Violence against women ranges from directly physical violence to processes of exclusion. Despite the increase in female participation in the social, economic and political life of AL in recent decades, income differences persist. Women's achievements are closer to those of men in Costa Rica, Argentina and the Dominican Republic, and lower gender equality in Paraguay, Nicaragua and Bolivia. Brazil is considered to have a medium-low level in terms of development, with emphasis on low participation in politics, and medium-high in terms of social inequality.


Societal – Individual (interpersonal) actions and organized violence are the two types considered in this classification. Despite the difficulty of limiting where one begins and the other ends, the first applies more to domestic violence while the second refers to groups such as drug traffickers, mafia, kidnappers, even repressive actions by the state through the police and guerrilla organizations. In this item, Colombia leads in terms of organized violence, followed by Peru, Panama, Ecuador and Brazil. At the lowest level are Uruguay, Costa Rica, Chile and Argentina. State violence is most pronounced in Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico, with low levels in Ecuador and Panama.


General index – Through an aggregated measure, which includes all dimensions of violence researched, we arrive at a global map where Bolivia appears with the highest level of violence among countries, followed by Guatemala and Brazil. At the opposite extreme are Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

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