Citizens of Fear: Urban Violence in Latin America / Edition 1

by Susana Rotker

Overview

Citizens in Latin American cities live in constant fear, amidst some of the most dangerous conditions on earth. In that vast region, 140 thousand people die violently each year, and one out of three citizens have been directly or indirectly victimized by violence. In Venezuela, adults are on average targets of crime seventeen crimes in their lifetimes, four of which are violent. In Mexico, 97 percent of all reported crimes go unpunished. Crime, in effect, is an undeclared war. Citizens of Fear, in part, assembles survey results of social scientists who document the pervasiveness of violence. But the numbers tell only part of the story. Other contributors present moving testimonials by the victimized and by journalists covering the scene. A third group of essayists explores the implications of the resulting fear for both thought and behavior. As Susana Rotker writes, "The city has been transformed into a space of vulnerability and danger...What I am interested in narrating here is...the generalized sensation of insecurity that taints the Latin American capitals, the sensation that has changed the ways people relate to urban space, to other human beings, to the state, and to the very concept of citizenship. "

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813530352
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	01/01/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

SUSAN ROTKER was a professor in the Spanish department at Rutgers University. She is the author of The Memoirs of Fray Servando Teresa de Mier and The American Chronicles of Jose Marti: Journalism and Modernity in Spanish America. She died in 2000, shortly after completing her work on this book.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Cities Written by Violence: An Introduction
The Fears
The City: Between Fear and the Media
The Facts
Urban Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean: Dimensions, Explanations, Actions
Colombia: Toward an Institutional Collapse?
Terror and Violence in Mexican Political Culture at the End of the Twentieth Century
Democracy, Citizenship, and Violence in Venezuela
Youth Crime in Sao Paulo: Myths, Images, and Facts
The Stories
A Small Mistake (chronicle)
Ciudad Bolivar: Brush Strokes against Death (chronicle)
The Drive-by Victim (chronicle)
The Attitude
State Violence in Brazil: The Professional Morality of Torturers
The Impact of Exposure to Violence in Sao Paulo: Accepting Violence or Continuing Horror?
The Imaginaries
The Social Construction of Fear: Urban Narratives and Practices
Imaginaries and Narratives of Prison Violence
We are the Others
Citizenship and Urban Violence: Nightmares in the Open Air
References
Contributors

Editorial Reviews

Rotker and 14 contributors examine urban violence in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil, since these countries share common characteristics and have been marked by the greatest recent rise in crime. . . . The book includes firsthand accounts by journalists of violence against themselves and others, perpetrated by both criminals and the authorities.

Rutgers Focus

A timely warning that democracy has not brought Latin Americans more security in their everyday lives. Personal safety, especially in the cities, has become one of the most pressing concerns for all citizens, but the state seems helpless and the police forces are often part of the problem rather than the solution. Fifteen out of every 100,000 urban inhabitants in Latin America are killed each year; in Colombia, the death toll reaches 100 out of every 100,000. In Mexico City, 97 percent of all reported crimes go unpunished. The average Venezuelan will experience 17 crimes, 4 of them violent, in his or her lifetime. The book's contributors examine the crisis from multiple perspectives, providing statistics, testimonies, and the stories of journalists on the ground. Indeed, the latter's own personal safety is often jeopardized, one brutal example being the murder of the Brazilian journalist Tim Lopes after he investigated the drug lords of Rio de Janeiro. It is not a pretty picture, and it has produced a widespread culture of fear and disillusionment made even worse by the intrusion of drug money and ruthless gang fights. In cities that depend heavily on tourism, the breakdown of law and order can lead to a downward spiral as potential visitors stay away. Matched with the failure of the economic reforms of the 1990s, this tidal wave of urban violence creates a toxic mix that governments ignore at their peril.

Foreign Affairs

In this scholarly work, editor Rotker (Spanish, Rutgers Univ.; The Memoirs of Fray Servando Teresa De Mier) has collected papers from a colloquium on culture, citizenship, and urban violence in Latin America held in Mexico in 2000. She has also included related essays by social scientists (e.g., Sergio Adorno, Yolanda Salas) on urban violence in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and Venezuela that include personal reflection and analysis of street crime, police torture, prison protests, civil unrest, and domestic violence but exclude considerations of guerrilla actions and drug trafficking. The quality of the writing and research varies, but all the contributors seem equally passionate in responding to a problem that cannot be limited to one geographic area. This kind of approach is especially useful in conveying the words and experiences of ordinary urban citizens about how fear shapes their lives. Recommended for academic collections in Latin American studies, urban studies, and international policy. Paula R. Dempsey, DePaul Univ. Lib., Chicago Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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