Mercados de drogas, guerra e paz no Recife

Abstract

This article discusses the possible connections between the functioning of various drug markets and violence in Recife. The authors propose that open and uncovered markets, such as the crack, are more prone to violence, unlike the closed and covered markets (the drug markets of the middle classes). Other factors contribute to the presence of more or less violence in each drug market analysed: the existence or nonexistence of credit and consignment, the more or less problematic use of each drug and the type of police action in each drug market. In addition to direct observation of the behavior of some of these drug markets and research in local newspapers, interviews were conducted with users and drug sellers, health professionals, social workers, therapists, judges, prosecutors and police officers.