In the emergence of Cracolândia as a public problem: The development of the lucrative crack market and its political-media exploitation

Abstract

We examine the first two decades of Cracolândia, in downtown São Paulo, from the early 1990s to 2010, in search of a history of the interests created around the area. To do so, we have made use of academic, literary, and journalistic works published about the area during this period. We have seen how it is presence in the media enabled a series of punitive measures by public authorities that have allowed the exposure of political personalities and promises of real estate valorization. We conclude that the actions of the public power in Cracolândia were articulated with interests of the real estate market, besides responding to appeals from the media.