FGV’s Department of Public Policy Analysis (DAPP) participated in the International Meeting on Law and Society, organized by Law and Society Association (LSA) on June 20-23, in Mexico City. DAPP was represented by researcher Maria Isabel Couto, who presented papers in the fields of public safety and immigration.

The paper titled ‘Denunciation, Crime and Punishment: the cycle of violence in the city of Rio de Janeiro’, presented during the panel ‘Legal Geography of Urban Spaces’, summarizes the research carried out by DAPP to map urban crime in Rio de Janeiro, visually imprinting the spatial reality of the cycle of violence in the city. In this case, cycle of violence was understood as the different moments analyzed between reports and crimes, prison and parole, and then pointing to clear and strategic public policies for different moments of this cycle of violence.

Specifically for the city of Rio de Janeiro, this study reveals areas where the city could implement support policies in public safety, complementing the actions of the state government. The debate and creation of a municipal public safety agenda are parallel to the main anti-violence efforts of municipal departments through social actions, urban planning and maintenance initiatives, and especially the use of technology and intelligence.

The paper titled ‘Expatriates, immigrants and refugees in Brazil: trajectories and insertion strategies’, featured in the panel ‘Legislation, Policy and Administrative Practice,’ is based on qualitative research carried out by DAPP with both legal and illegal immigrants. Based on the results, the paper engages in a comparative discussion of the economic and social inclusion strategies used by three migrant profiles (expatriates, immigrants, and refugees) to address migration control mechanisms and restrictions in Brazil. The paper concludes that immigrants who have succeeded in joining the job market were not necessarily those with better professional performance, but those who understood the different social navigation strategies in which Brazilians find ways to face the contradictions and paradoxes between the law and social reality, in a typically Brazilian way. Finally, it proposes that Brazil can be considered what literature calls a ‘reverse immigration policy paradox’.

“The LSA Meeting brings together professors and researchers known for discussing the evolution of law and society. It is as an essential space to promote discussions, share experiences, and build paths against the rise of radicalism and against threats to democracy currently faced around the world. As a DAPP researcher, I was able to contribute by showing our work on public policy analysis and improvement, consolidating important lessons that can be applied in future studies through the criticism and work of other researchers”, said the researcher.