Spatial reorganization of homicides in Brazil and the interiorization thesis

Abstract

This paper analyzes the spatial and temporal distributions of homicides in Brazil since the 1980s, when a sharp increase in death rates occurred. It also analyzes the evolution of homicides during the three following decades (1990s, 2000s and 2010s), when distinct processes took place, such as population reduction, stabilization and growth in different regions of the country. The main source of data for the first part of the paper consisted of various editions of “Mapa da Violência” (Map of Violence) by WAISELFISZ (1998, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011). Besides analyzing the spatial and temporal distribution of homicides, we will examine the widespread thesis of internalization, disseminated by these studies. Then, based only on the period of 1999 to 2006, the paper includes a geographical analysis of homicides in Brazil by geographical macro-region, exploring and describing the phenomena of “internalization” and the “spread of violence.” To do so we will use homicide records published by SVS/MS in order to produce risk rates and coropleth mapping at the municipal level. This article’s mainthesis is that the reorganization of violence in Brazil based on homicide records reveals a complex process that goes beyond what is conventionally called the “internalization of violence.” There is a reorganization that follows the logic of agglomeration, with the clear presence of effects of contagion and the formation of clusters of homicides in areas that, in recent years, experienced economic dynamism or the reorganization of their spaces due to changes in land-use and functions.