Chaos as a strategy and “protection” as a commodity in São Paulo’s “Cracolândia”

Abstract

The article presents a recent analysis of Cracolândia between 2017 and 2023, when the policy of dispersing homeless people in the territory was resumed through violent operations conducted by public security agents. After providing a brief history of the most recent police operation, which was called Operação Caronte (Charon Operation), the dispersion of people and the spread of flows are discussed as a strategy to create chaos and enable political commodities, practices, and negotiations on the border between legal and illegal. The study used the following methodologies: field research, critical cartography, consultation with the media, and experiments, aiming to produce knowledge jointly with collectives and civil society organizations operating in the territory.

illegalisms; space production; Cracolândia; political commodity