Abstract:
This dossier aims to understand the phenomenon of criminality in Latin American postcolonial societies, and their correspondence in the practices of agents of justice and police as holders of the monopoly of violence of nation-states. The transition to legal modernity presented quite peculiar contours in Iberian heritage America. The dossier provides, from a historical point of view, a recent overview of studies that incorporate discussions about the judicial reform since the political dawn of Latin American republics and, especially, the formation of criminal justice institutions and bodies in the process of consolidating the Brazilian nation.
Keywords:
Criminality; Justice; Latin America