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Armed Violence and the Politics of Gun Control in B razil: An Analysis of the 2005 Referendum
Author(s) -
CAVALCANTI ROXANA P.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
bulletin of latin american research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.24
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1470-9856
pISSN - 0261-3050
DOI - 10.1111/blar.12476
Subject(s) - referendum , ideology , politics , context (archaeology) , political science , language change , gun control , criminology , political economy , sociology , law , geography , art , literature , archaeology
This article analyses the factors behind the paradoxical result of the B razilian gun‐control referendum. It adopts a qualitative approach to explore the dissemination of ideologies surrounding crime, gun control and security. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with activists involved in the referendum's campaign. The results reveal that ideologically driven campaigns in a context of corruption scandals, high levels of violence and fear influenced the result. The neoliberal discourse of individual freedoms played a role, as did the phrasing of the referendum's question, fragile confidence in public institutions and unequal campaign funding and regulation.