The Most Modern Racism in Brazil: Policing and Racial Relations in the Federal Capital

Abstract

Planned to be the representation of Brazilian modernity, Brasília - the “most modern city in Brazil” - was built based on a specific model of population control and social-racial segregation. In this article, a product of research conducted between 2017-2019, we seek to trace relationships between data produced by PCDF, related to arrests and deaths resulting from police intervention, with data obtained through interviews with black officers of PMDF. On one hand, we question the statistical “knowledge suppression” regarding the race/color of those arrested in the act by public security institutions in DF; on the other hand, we reflect on the narratives of black police officers about racism in their practices and experiences inside and outside of PMDF. Finally, we seek to understand the role of the police in the production and maintenance of invisible borders that collaborate with the perpetuation of socio-racial segregation dynamics in DF.

Keywords:
policing; public security; racism; Distrito Federal; segregation