JUDICIAL DISCOURSES ON FAVELAS: IMPACT ON PUBLIC POLITICS AND SOCIAL AGENTS

This paper analyses Brazilian judicial discourse from the State Court of Rio de Janeiro (TJRJ) in cases related to favelas (slums) of the city for three decades: from 1980 to 2009. The corpus of analyses (sample) is composed by the resumée (ementa) of TJRJ decisions. The content was analyzed through a quantitative analytical approach using the categories: author, defendant, type of action; and through a specific quanti-qualitative analytical approach of discourse based on Fairclough methodology for discourse analysis. The sample revealed a higher number of cases proposed by favela residents who discuss the provision of public and private services. As for the judicial discourse, we find that the Judiciary differs from the State. There are also other critical aspects as: lack of standardization; lack of metrics; lack of intertextual rigor and coherence among judicial decisions. Based on this study we suggest three different phases in the treatment dispensed by TJRJ to favelas: first, they are a non-problem (denial); secondly, a recognized public problem; third, a social reality that needs to be welcomed and integrated to the city. However, that integration seems to be a problem of others (i.e., the executive and legislative’s), not belonging to the justice system.

Analysis; Discourse; TJRJ; Jurisprudence; Favela