Democracia e segurança pública na América Latina: uma análise a partir da perspectiva pós-colonial dos Direitos humanos

Abstract

Public security in Latin America faces complex challenges that originated in the colonial period, marked by the creation of structures of exclusion and repression. This legacy has profoundly shaped regional institutions and practices, influencing the way security is managed to this day and hindering the establishment of a system that promotes human rights and social justice. Considering these factors, this study adopts a postcolonial perspective on human rights, a critical perspective that seeks to analyze the contradictions and limitations of the application of human rights in societies in which power structures have been shaped by centuries of colonialism. Therefore, the present study aims to understand how the colonial legacy affects the construction of democratic public security in Latin America, exploring, as the object of this study, the complex relationship between the colonial heritage and public security policies in the region. The central hypothesis of this work is that the power structures and inequalities created during colonialism were perpetuated in the post-colonial period and continue to negatively affect public security practices in Latin America, hindering the promotion of human rights and social justice. In order to develop this study, a quanti-qualitative methodological strategy was adopted, along with the deductive approach method and the historical procedure method, in addition to the bibliographic research technique. To achieve the general objective, three specific goals were outlined: to assess the impacts of colonialism and post-colonialism in Latin America – exploring how European colonialism established power structures and inequalities that still influence Latin American societies –, to investigate the influence of developmentalism and United States interventions in Latin American democracies – identifying how these factors reinforced authoritarian regimes and contributed to the militarization of Latin American police forces –, and to examine the structuring of democracies and public security models in Latin America, using Brazil and Chile as examples. In the Brazilian context, the Nova Brasília Case stands out, concerning police operations in the Nova Brasília Favela, in Rio de Janeiro, in 1994 and 1995, which resulted in summary executions and sexual violence against civilians. The case was brought before the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights, being adjudicated in 2017, becoming the first case of police violence against Brazil to be heard by the Court. At the end of the study, it is concluded that the imposition of international legislation, often without considering the specific needs of developing countries, maintains a power hierarchy that began during the colonial period and continues to favor developed nations. During the Cold War, development policies and U.S. interventions strengthened authoritarian regimes in Latin America, such as those in Brazil and Chile, making the implementation of democratic public security systems more difficult. Although democratic transitions in these countries have shown progress, challenges like police violence and impunity continue to harm the relationship between the population and security forces. Therefore, the colonial legacy remains a present reality, shaping public security policies.