Estado de insegurança no centro de São Paulo: crise e higienização na Cracolândia como expressão da colonialidade brasileira

Abstract

The year 2022 marked the beginning of a new phase in the so-called "Cracolândia" of São Paulo: the expansion of the flow (the term used to describe scenes of crack cocaine use) promoted by government actions led to a crisis that resulted in a state of insecurity in the city’s central region. This crisis was sparked by a "rebellion" from a portion of the local population, who began to demand a more emphatic "final solution" to the problem. Significant events followed. The most emblematic was the proposal to move the State Government headquarters to the area. This initiative can be summed up in the aspiration, declared by the acting governor, to bring "power" back to the center of São Paulo, which implies the cleansing of the "undesirables" from the area. The aim of this thesis is to explore both the objective and subjective elements that have led to the current situation. The instrumentalization of subjects and the incitement of the population to crisis and insecurity in Cracolândia will be examined here as a