Forms of urban violence: a comparison between France and Brazil

Abstract

Comparing some forms of urban violence - such as rebellion, homicide in the slums, the insecurity in the middle class neighbourhood, the insecurity in downtown of big cities - and the imaginary of the media upon it, this article compares these forms of violence in Brazil and in France, in a attempt to show that meanwhile in the French cities the violence has got an anti-institutional feature (it is the violence against the State), in Brazil, the urban violence is conected to a lack of regularization from the State, concerning the social, cultural and economical relations. In other words, the violence in Brazil occurs because of the absence of the State.