THE DISCOURSE ON VIOLENCE AND PUBLIC SECURITY IN THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF RIO DE JANEIRO

Abstract

Based on the reactions of parliamentarians to an episode involving the hijacking of a bus on the Rio-Niterói bridge that resulted in the death of the hijacker by the police, this article analyzes the discourse on violence and public safety in the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro. To conduct this analysis, we selected the statements made by state representatives in plenary sessions and the positions they took in relation to the incident, seeking to identify how they express the disputes surrounding the guidelines that should preferably be adopted in addressing public security in the state. We investigated statements made on the day of the kidnapping and the police operation, as well as on the following days, when the police's stance and the governor's reaction to the outcome were debated. The symbolic and discursive elements mobilized in these discourses highlight some of the main components that make public security policies a field of dispute in which district parliamentarians articulate agendas, alliances, and political affiliations with actors outside the legislature, among which police corporations occupy a privileged place.