War as a Government Mode in Rio De Janeiro’s Slums

Abstract

My intention in this article is to discuss how war is a political resource for governing the life and death of certain populations in the city of Rio de Janeiro. In this sense, I suggest thinking about the relations between the different state apparatuses and the residents of Rio’s favelas based on the “logic of destruction”, in which war emerges as the very way of governing these populations. The reflections presented herein will be based on the analysis of the federal intervention performed in 2018 in the state security forces in Rio de Janeiro. I intend to demonstrate two interconnected processes, emphasizing the first in this text: on the one hand, how the life experiences of these populations comprise from constant exposure to death and ways of destroying their ways of life in the city to the creation of pain and suffering. On the other hand, what forms do these people create to circumvent or cross destruction and devastation in order to continue to exist and re-live life.