Confronting necropolitics in Brazil: Defiant linguistic resources and artvism as ways of surviving

ABSTRACT:

This paper draws from the ethnography that we, two researchers in Applied Linguistics, have carried out for a decade in the Complexo do Alemão favelas, in Rio de Janeiro. Favelas are inhabited by a mostly Black population, who are disproportionately affected by Brazil’s notorious necropolitics. Further, the monopoly of violence in Brazil is not exclusive to the State, as the “world of crime”, even if fragmented, is also a relevant agent in this dynamic. The sociology of violence posits that the crossfire between the State and other armed agents stifle residents’ political demands. Yet we engage with some residents who speak up and create innovative ways to confront the violence that is aimed at them. In this paper, we explore digital rockets, the papo reto activist register and artivism as modes of surviving enacted by favela residents in their pursuit of more equitable futures.

KEYWORDS:
Necropolitics; Violence; Linguistic resources; Papo Reto register; Artivism